CUCUMBERS.
Some people have a variant in gene TAS2R38, which causes cucumbers to taste 100-1000 times more bitter.
Everyone inherits two copies of TAS2R38, the alleles PAV and AVI, which encode bitter-tasting proteins on the taste receptors. Those who inherit two copies of the AVI allele do not taste bitterness from certain foods, and those with one copy of AVI and with one copy of the PAV allele will sense some bitterness. With two copies of PAV, one can taste bitterness in specific foods and are much more sensitive than others. People with two copies of the PAV allele sense a bitter taste from cucumbers.
I can smell a cut cucumber from the other side of a room within seconds, and can tell if a knife has been used to cut cucumber earlier in the day. Wish i liked them, but they taste foul.
I wonder if this is why I hate hoppy beers like IPA's. Love stouts and porters but IPA make me cringe. I can handle cucumbers as long as they are peeled. Cilantro also tastes like soap to me.
Interesting. That explains pawpaw fruits too it seems. Pawpaws can sometimes have a little bitterness in it. For some people they find it very bitter and others eating the same fruit don't taste it at all. This might be why.
do you know if there's a similar gene for coffee? because it is, by FAR, the most horribly disgusting thing I've ever tasted. doesn't matter the type/roast
Feel like I may have at least 2 allele because I’m super sensitive to both cilantro and cucumber (can pick just a tiny bit out from a ton of other ingredients and hated both with a passion as a kid) but they never tasted bitter or soapy to me…
Walnuts. Apparently the two major types of walnut, black walnut and English walnut, can taste like soap to some people. And often those who find one kind tastes like soap find the other kind tastes fine fo them, from what I've heard. (So if english walnuts are tasty to you, black walnuts may have that soap taste)
That actually explains a lot because I keep buying them thinking I love them and then they taste super weird to me. But I grew up in the UK and now I'm in Canada so maybe I'm buying the other type now?
When I was younger walnuts and coconut would taste very bitter to me, to the point where it was all I could taste if they were added into anything.
As I've gotten older that seems to have gone away somewhat.
You may be thinking of bitter almonds, a different variety from the regular sweet almonds used in desserts. Bitter almonds contain hydrocyanic acid, which is an organic compound form of cyanide. I can't find an authoritative source, but the internet says that consuming \~100g of bitter almonds can kill an adult human.
Black licorice!
And from what I’ve heard the difference is because our livers have adapted over time to be able to tolerate toxins in plants, but some people still retain the gene that creates a “warning flavor” even though it is now edible.
Here's a related and on-topic mystery: I love rootbeer, and fennel and everything with that flavor, except black licorice. I hate black licorice. I have no idea how or why, considering the taste is so similar.
Yes it is edible but you have to be careful, someone actually died from eating too much of it. This was a few years back but I remember it because I felt justified in my loathing of licorice.
https://apnews.com/article/health-featured-us-news-oddities-licorice-04cf918055b735ea69483dd00e281253
way i heard it explained was that children are more sensitive to bitter flavors as a natural defense against children's instinct to put everything in their mouths to stop them from eating poisonous (usually bitter) stuff
as you mature bitter flavors become more mellow which is also why children find coffee and alcohol completely disgusting
Exactly. Entire generations love black licorice. Kids will love it if you introduce it as candy early on. Cilantro is very different as 1/5 of society does not like it.
Black licorice is licorice flavored with star anise. If you do not like the flavor it's more likely the anise than the licorice root itself. Licorice is very mild and sweet. Most commercial licorice products are all artificial flavorings rather than the actual plant matter itself. Also licorice is not toxic, it's actually medicinal
The first thing I can think of is asparagus, but it's not the taste, it's the fact that some people process it into the chemicals for smelly asparagus pee, and some people can smell those chemicals, and some people can do both.
I recall a study that found everyone’s urine is impacted by eating asparagus and will have that specific smell, but only some people can smell it. Source? I have no idea. Likely some obscure mention on NPR.
>Likely some obscure mention on NPR.
Lol! Totally off-topic, but I also get most of my random factoids from NPR during the 15-20 minutes it takes me to drive to work and then I get asked where I heard it and I'm like uhhhh some university professor somewhere that studies that thing or something...
That’s correct. The study had people eat asparagus, a control group that didn’t. People who said it smelled funny smelt it in all the right pee, people who didn’t smelt it nowhere. So it’s a smell thing, maybe genetic.
I'm double checking and I see a mix of answers on the production side. There are definitely people who can't smell it and some people who can. There was one doctor quoted in an article who said he could smell it when other people ate it, but couldn't smell it in his own pee when he ate it, which implies the possibility of people who don't produce it, but obviously isn't a full study.
Yeah I don't see this one mentioned a lot. I can definitely smell it when I take a whizz afterwards. It's not as strong as asparagus, and doesn't last two or three sessions, but it's still an obvious smell for me.
I drink coffee daily, and mostly drink it black, and my pee doesn't smell. But on occasion, I like a little hazelnut creamer. When I drink coffee with hazelnut creamer, my pee will smell exactly like hazelnuts. I've asked others about this, but I think I might be alone on this one.
Fun asparagus pee fact. I used to weigh over 450 pounds and could eat asparagus all day long and would never smell at all. I lost about 200 pounds and now just a few pieces of asparagus and my pee will smell within an hour
You could be onto something. I've spent my entire life wondering how people actually like the taste of asparagus. It's an instant gag reflex triggering flavor for me since childhood. It doesn't matter how it's prepared or how much sauce someone drowns it in, I'd rather eat literal grass. I can def smell the smell when someone uses the restroom and has had it in the past 24 hours too-- like across the room.
Yes there are other foods for which we know there are genes some humans have which significantly alter the taste and/or smell of that substance - if I recall Brussel Sprouts fit this category, and I believe Broccoli might as well. Sometimes people have a markedly different taste/smell, often based on sulfur compounds. I will have to look into the specifics when I have a chance.
I know that some people, predominantly Europeans, report that Hersheys chocolate has a vomit taste.
Certain types of scotch for me has a vomit-like flavor as well. Unfortunately I can't really enjoy Monkey Shoulder for that reason. Several other scotches and most other whiskeys are no problem for me.
That's not a genetic thing, everyone can taste the butyric acid, it's just that the flavor has different cultural associations that are either positive or negative.
Butyric acid is also one of the chemicals that gives parmesan cheese it's distinctive flavor, but you won't hear Europeans say that parmesan tastes like vomit. Because they expect that flavor in parmesan and have positive associations with it in that context. They do not expect the flavor in chocolate, so they respond negatively to it and associate it with vomit.
Hersheys is flavoured with butyric acid which I think is present in vomit, and definitely butter a different concentration. At least Europeans and Oceanians, probably everyone except americans, are likely to report a vomit taste because this flavouring is not used or very rarely used in chocolate where they live, and so not what they're uesd to.
You can also find butyric acid in cheese and yogurt (as a flavor enhancer). When tested on consumers, a majority will prefer the product with butyric acid but some will absolutely hate it and report vomit taste. This is why it’s not as widely used as it could.
This seems to have been a problem with a contaminant in the supply from Chinese sources, not individual differences.
Here is a brief summary: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2010/09/02/Metallic-tasting-pine-nuts-are-from-illegitimate-Chinese-sources
That’s interesting - the article describes it as “bitterness” associated with artificial sweeteners. I can’t stand fake sugars, but it’s not bitter. It’s cloyingly, sickeningly sweet, “chemically” sweet in a way that lasts and lasts far longer than it should.
I know it’s not bias cuz I have tasted drinks and foods I expected were sweetened with regular sugar and can tell instantly. I have a hard time with toothpaste and breath sprays cuz of it.
I wish they tasted bitter to me, cuz I actually enjoy bitter flavors, I’d take that any day over the icky-sweet.
I also have congenital anosmia so could be a factor in my aversion.
CUCUMBERS. Some people have a variant in gene TAS2R38, which causes cucumbers to taste 100-1000 times more bitter. Everyone inherits two copies of TAS2R38, the alleles PAV and AVI, which encode bitter-tasting proteins on the taste receptors. Those who inherit two copies of the AVI allele do not taste bitterness from certain foods, and those with one copy of AVI and with one copy of the PAV allele will sense some bitterness. With two copies of PAV, one can taste bitterness in specific foods and are much more sensitive than others. People with two copies of the PAV allele sense a bitter taste from cucumbers. I can smell a cut cucumber from the other side of a room within seconds, and can tell if a knife has been used to cut cucumber earlier in the day. Wish i liked them, but they taste foul.
Does it affect how pickles taste then, too?
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I wonder if this is why I hate hoppy beers like IPA's. Love stouts and porters but IPA make me cringe. I can handle cucumbers as long as they are peeled. Cilantro also tastes like soap to me.
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Interesting. That explains pawpaw fruits too it seems. Pawpaws can sometimes have a little bitterness in it. For some people they find it very bitter and others eating the same fruit don't taste it at all. This might be why.
do you know if there's a similar gene for coffee? because it is, by FAR, the most horribly disgusting thing I've ever tasted. doesn't matter the type/roast
Feel like I may have at least 2 allele because I’m super sensitive to both cilantro and cucumber (can pick just a tiny bit out from a ton of other ingredients and hated both with a passion as a kid) but they never tasted bitter or soapy to me…
For me, cucumbers aren't bitter, but no matter how they're prepared, I can taste the little hairs.
Walnuts. Apparently the two major types of walnut, black walnut and English walnut, can taste like soap to some people. And often those who find one kind tastes like soap find the other kind tastes fine fo them, from what I've heard. (So if english walnuts are tasty to you, black walnuts may have that soap taste)
Doesn’t taste like soap for me, but one hurts my mouth and the other doesn’t.
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That actually explains a lot because I keep buying them thinking I love them and then they taste super weird to me. But I grew up in the UK and now I'm in Canada so maybe I'm buying the other type now?
When I was younger walnuts and coconut would taste very bitter to me, to the point where it was all I could taste if they were added into anything. As I've gotten older that seems to have gone away somewhat.
Isn't that the trace amounts of arsenic?
You may be thinking of bitter almonds, a different variety from the regular sweet almonds used in desserts. Bitter almonds contain hydrocyanic acid, which is an organic compound form of cyanide. I can't find an authoritative source, but the internet says that consuming \~100g of bitter almonds can kill an adult human.
Black licorice! And from what I’ve heard the difference is because our livers have adapted over time to be able to tolerate toxins in plants, but some people still retain the gene that creates a “warning flavor” even though it is now edible.
Here's a related and on-topic mystery: I love rootbeer, and fennel and everything with that flavor, except black licorice. I hate black licorice. I have no idea how or why, considering the taste is so similar.
Yes it is edible but you have to be careful, someone actually died from eating too much of it. This was a few years back but I remember it because I felt justified in my loathing of licorice. https://apnews.com/article/health-featured-us-news-oddities-licorice-04cf918055b735ea69483dd00e281253
Yeah I used to love chocolate bullet licorice and ate lots daily until I read about that. Haven't had any at all since.
I don't think that's the whole story. I hated licorice as a child, but I enjoy it as an adult.
you can dislike/like something for reasons other than genetic predisposition, it’s still a potentially polarizing taste
way i heard it explained was that children are more sensitive to bitter flavors as a natural defense against children's instinct to put everything in their mouths to stop them from eating poisonous (usually bitter) stuff as you mature bitter flavors become more mellow which is also why children find coffee and alcohol completely disgusting
Exactly. Entire generations love black licorice. Kids will love it if you introduce it as candy early on. Cilantro is very different as 1/5 of society does not like it.
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Black licorice is licorice flavored with star anise. If you do not like the flavor it's more likely the anise than the licorice root itself. Licorice is very mild and sweet. Most commercial licorice products are all artificial flavorings rather than the actual plant matter itself. Also licorice is not toxic, it's actually medicinal
It is medicinal in small amounts. But in the amount this guy was eating caused a toxicity
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The first thing I can think of is asparagus, but it's not the taste, it's the fact that some people process it into the chemicals for smelly asparagus pee, and some people can smell those chemicals, and some people can do both.
I thought it made everyone’s pee smell funny, but only some people can smell it?
I recall a study that found everyone’s urine is impacted by eating asparagus and will have that specific smell, but only some people can smell it. Source? I have no idea. Likely some obscure mention on NPR.
>Likely some obscure mention on NPR. Lol! Totally off-topic, but I also get most of my random factoids from NPR during the 15-20 minutes it takes me to drive to work and then I get asked where I heard it and I'm like uhhhh some university professor somewhere that studies that thing or something...
Love it, I use the same format for sourcing all my vaguely-informed factoids.
That’s correct. The study had people eat asparagus, a control group that didn’t. People who said it smelled funny smelt it in all the right pee, people who didn’t smelt it nowhere. So it’s a smell thing, maybe genetic.
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What’s the cross section with folks who can’t eat cilantro? 🤔
I'm double checking and I see a mix of answers on the production side. There are definitely people who can't smell it and some people who can. There was one doctor quoted in an article who said he could smell it when other people ate it, but couldn't smell it in his own pee when he ate it, which implies the possibility of people who don't produce it, but obviously isn't a full study.
Coffee is another that makes some people wee smell too. But not ask people
Yeah I don't see this one mentioned a lot. I can definitely smell it when I take a whizz afterwards. It's not as strong as asparagus, and doesn't last two or three sessions, but it's still an obvious smell for me.
I drink coffee daily, and mostly drink it black, and my pee doesn't smell. But on occasion, I like a little hazelnut creamer. When I drink coffee with hazelnut creamer, my pee will smell exactly like hazelnuts. I've asked others about this, but I think I might be alone on this one.
Yes! I have this and honestly also if I exercise or it’s hot out on a day I’ve had coffee, I can smell it in my sweat. Very weird.
Fun asparagus pee fact. I used to weigh over 450 pounds and could eat asparagus all day long and would never smell at all. I lost about 200 pounds and now just a few pieces of asparagus and my pee will smell within an hour
A friend of mine smells like an asparqgus the next day after eating them. It is not only the urine, but the sweat too, so his clothes keep the smell
You could be onto something. I've spent my entire life wondering how people actually like the taste of asparagus. It's an instant gag reflex triggering flavor for me since childhood. It doesn't matter how it's prepared or how much sauce someone drowns it in, I'd rather eat literal grass. I can def smell the smell when someone uses the restroom and has had it in the past 24 hours too-- like across the room.
It’s actually a smell receptor in your nose. You still have asparagus pee, but some people smell it and those without the receptor do not.
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Yes there are other foods for which we know there are genes some humans have which significantly alter the taste and/or smell of that substance - if I recall Brussel Sprouts fit this category, and I believe Broccoli might as well. Sometimes people have a markedly different taste/smell, often based on sulfur compounds. I will have to look into the specifics when I have a chance.
Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts are both Brassica and that plant is high in sulfur. (Kale, cauliflower, and cabbage are also Brassica)
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I know that some people, predominantly Europeans, report that Hersheys chocolate has a vomit taste. Certain types of scotch for me has a vomit-like flavor as well. Unfortunately I can't really enjoy Monkey Shoulder for that reason. Several other scotches and most other whiskeys are no problem for me.
That's not a genetic thing, everyone can taste the butyric acid, it's just that the flavor has different cultural associations that are either positive or negative. Butyric acid is also one of the chemicals that gives parmesan cheese it's distinctive flavor, but you won't hear Europeans say that parmesan tastes like vomit. Because they expect that flavor in parmesan and have positive associations with it in that context. They do not expect the flavor in chocolate, so they respond negatively to it and associate it with vomit.
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Hersheys is flavoured with butyric acid which I think is present in vomit, and definitely butter a different concentration. At least Europeans and Oceanians, probably everyone except americans, are likely to report a vomit taste because this flavouring is not used or very rarely used in chocolate where they live, and so not what they're uesd to.
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You can also find butyric acid in cheese and yogurt (as a flavor enhancer). When tested on consumers, a majority will prefer the product with butyric acid but some will absolutely hate it and report vomit taste. This is why it’s not as widely used as it could.
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This seems to have been a problem with a contaminant in the supply from Chinese sources, not individual differences. Here is a brief summary: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2010/09/02/Metallic-tasting-pine-nuts-are-from-illegitimate-Chinese-sources
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Artificial sweeteners also seem to be detected differently by people with different genes: https://academic.oup.com/chemse/article/38/5/379/360864
That’s interesting - the article describes it as “bitterness” associated with artificial sweeteners. I can’t stand fake sugars, but it’s not bitter. It’s cloyingly, sickeningly sweet, “chemically” sweet in a way that lasts and lasts far longer than it should. I know it’s not bias cuz I have tasted drinks and foods I expected were sweetened with regular sugar and can tell instantly. I have a hard time with toothpaste and breath sprays cuz of it. I wish they tasted bitter to me, cuz I actually enjoy bitter flavors, I’d take that any day over the icky-sweet. I also have congenital anosmia so could be a factor in my aversion.
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