by Robert S. Shallenberger
Sweeteners: Nutritive
Pages 9-16
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/0913250953.002
ISBN: 0-913250-95-3
Abstract
Topics Covered
- Definition of Sweetness
- Taste Profiles
- Taste Spectra
- Perceived Sweetness
- Relative Sweetness
- Chemical Structure and Sweetness
Introduction to Chapter
Sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and bitterness are the primary tastes assigned to the assessment of food character and/or palatability. Taken together, they make up one of the so-called “chemical senses.” The classification of taste as a chemical sense indicates that tastes are caused by chemical substances and implies that different tastes are probably caused by different chemical reactions. Also related to the sense of taste are olfaction (the sense of smell), astringency, and the senses of heat and cold.
In the pursuit of food, early humans probably used the sensation of sweetness to recognize wholesome food sources, since no toxic substances with an apparent sweet taste occur naturally. However, when mankind developed the ability to synthesize new chemicals, the general relationship between sweetness and wholesomeness was lost. Sweetness can now be found in all classes of chemical substances, some of which are known to be harmful (chloroform), cumulatively toxic (lead acetate, or “sugar of lead”), or incredibly toxic (beryllium chloride, or “glucinium”).
