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What tastes good? What tastes bad? Why? The answers to these questions are of intense personal interest to chefs, scientists, and the parents of picky eaters. It inevitably leads to this question: Where does flavor reside—in the food we eat or in the subjective multi-sensory experience of eating? And what is the evolutionary value of taste? To prevent us from eating something harmful or to encourage us to eat high-value food?
Our scientific understanding of taste has lagged behind what we know about our other senses, but that is beginning to change. To see how scientists are exploring taste and how chefs are exploring science, photographer Brian Finke traveled to 10 locations from New Zealand to Denmark, visiting research labs and test kitchens searching for a deeper scientific understanding of yumminess. “The Science of Taste” appeared in the December 2015 issue of National Geographic magazine.