Taste Tests

Newswise – Organically and conventionally grown potatoes can be toldapart by flavor, but only if the skins are left on. Andwhether you prefer Pepsi or Coke depends on which one youTHINK you’ll like best.

A panel of fifteen taste testers was asked to evaluateboiled samples of redskin potatoes that had been grownorganically or conventionally. The tasters were simply toldthey were evaluating different potatoes, not that some ofthem were organic and some were not.

When the potatoes were peeled before being cooked, theycouldn’t tell the difference. But when the skins were lefton, they were able to identify a difference between theconventionally and organically grown potatoes.

Testing the vitamin content of the different potatoes showedthat glycoalkaloids (natural protective agents against pestsand diseases, found in potato plants and tubers) and levelsof potassium, magnesium, phosphorous and sulfur were higherin organic potatoes, while iron and manganese levels werehigher in conventional potatoes.

Another taste study demonstrates that knowing the brand of asoft drink can influence our perception of what it tasteslike. 67 volunteers drank cola samples, which they wereasked to identify as either Coke or Pepsi. While this wasgoing on, they were given brain scans that revealed whentheir memories were activated, meaning they thought theyrecognized the beverage they were drinking.

When the tasters didn’t know which beverage they weredrinking, they expressed no preference, but when they weregiven visual hints, they expressed a definite preference.The brain scans showed that advertising works?peoplepreferred the drink that had been advertised to them mosteffectively, the one they EXPECTED to like.

Photo credit: http://www.freeimages.co.uk

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