OT Corner:  Mmm, That's Tasty
By Erica Bailey and Desiree Millet
Originally printed in August 2004

Have you ever wondered how you distinguish between the tastes of a 
sweet chocolate chip versus a salty pretzel, or wondered why your 
baby's food tastes so bland?  The sense of taste develops around 13 
to 15 weeks of pregnancy as a result of the chemicals in the amniotic 
fluid that stimulate the growth of the taste buds.  A mother's daily 
intake of food directly affects the taste of amniotic fluid for the 
developing fetus, or in your cases, fetuses.  For example, if a mother's 
diet is high in onion or garlic-containing foods, then her amniotic 
fluid will bear a strong likeness to those tastes.  Not only does a 
mother's diet affect the taste of the amniotic fluid, it also introduces 
the developing fetuses to their native cuisine.  All along, the fetuses 
are swallowing this uniquely flavored amniotic fluid, but the development 
of taste really speeds up during the third trimester, as the fetuses swallow 
about a quart of amniotic fluid a day, as well as lick the uterine wall.  
Recently, studies have shown that the variety of foods a baby experienced 
during pregnancy or while nursing are the foods the baby enjoys the most.  
For instance, if you're really fond of pears, then don't be surprised 
if your little ones are too!

You may be surprised to know that a baby's sense of taste greatly differs 
from that of an adult.  This is because a baby's mouth contains more taste 
buds than the average adult.  Taste buds are found not only on a baby's 
tongue and throat, like Mom and Dad, but also on their cheeks, thus making 
them much more sensitive to all types of taste.  As we get older, our 
taste bud count greatly decreases, which is why we, as adults, find baby 
food to be extremely bland.

There are other factors that contribute to our sense of taste, such as our 
sense of smell and our saliva.  Smell and taste go hand-in-hand, constantly 
working together, helping to identify specific tastes.  You can really see 
this come into play when you, or your children, are sick with a stuffy nose; 
you have a difficult time deciphering what it is you are tasting.

Due to the fact that everyone's saliva is different, every person has his 
or her own individual taste preferences.  In order for our food to have a 
taste, the food must contain fats, and our saliva must moisten it.  Saliva 
also helps distinguish between different sensations, like the texture of 
our food, and whether something is crunchy versus chewy.  This is how we 
can tell the difference between pudding and granola.

No matter what your baby consumed during pregnancy, most are born with a 
sweet tooth and this is shown when they take their first bite of sweet, 
pureed banana or applesauce.

In order to get the most out of your tasting experience, here are a 
few tips to remember:

* Our taste buds work best at room temperature; we can't taste well if 
  food is too hot or too cold.
* Foods should be eaten one at a time instead of mixed.
* If your tongue is dry and the food you are eating is dry or doesn't 
  contain any fat, then there is absolutely no taste.
* When we crave foods, our body is telling us the specific nutrients 
  we may need at the time.

To sum it all up, taste makes eating fun both for you and baby.  The joys 
of taste occur primarily from our thousands of tiny taste buds, hard at 
work and contributing to our ability to differentiate between sweet, sour, 
salty and bitter, as well as providing us a wide array of what we consider 
to be desirable flavors.