SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

How to boost the power of your senses. This week: Taste

HOW well you taste food and drink depends on how many tastebuds you have. This is determined by the number of tiny bumps, called fungiform papillae, that exist on your tongue.

Most of us have around 15 to 30 papillae in an area the size of an opening made by a hole punch and each of these contains 50 to 150 taste receptors.

You can’t increase how many you have, but you can help them do their job better.

First, avoid scalding hot food and drinks. Research at the University of Leuven in Belgium found that consuming food and drink at temperatures of more than 35C reduces our perception of taste, possibly because our brains are busy sending out alarm signals to warn us we might burn ourselves.

Also avoid drinking very cold water with food — this briefly reduces the tongue’s ability to taste sweetness and fat, meaning you’re likely to end up eating more to feel satisfied.