🎧 Disputations about taste
Jeremy Cherfas from jeremycherfas.netEpisode summary: Taste is a very curious thing. We understand that how we taste something is almost entirely subjective, that while it depends to some extent on the physical and chemical properties of the things we’re tasting, the sensation is overlaid with all sorts of cultural and personal memories. Unless you have access to all of those, there’s nothing you can say about my taste. Except, we do that all the time. We slip easily from taste being indisputable to good taste and bad taste and from there to making taste the basis of moral judgements. What’s more, this is nothing new. These thoughts, and many more, were prompted by a new book: Food Fights: How History Matters to Contemporary Food Debates. It contains two chapters that cover taste directly (and a third that considers food choice from a slightly different point of view). In an effort to straighten myself out on the subject, I talked to the two chapter authors, and they’re going to be the guests in at least the next two episodes. In the first instance, Margot Finn…
Did we discuss chilli food? I don’t think so. We talked about the genetic difference in how people taste cilantro, coriander leaf, but not about hot peppers. As it happens, that has long interested me too. I’d like to hear your thoughts.
My reference was to the 8 minute mark where Margot talks about the puritans and the association between spice and self-pleasure.
Reminded me of a TISM song, Whatareya?
Although that might not be your taste 🙂