I used to think that you needed a good palate if you wanted to become a good cook. Now it seems there’s much more to taste than just tasting a broad variety of flavours and learning to discern between them. There’s a whole new classification in town: you can also be a supertaster, taster, or, *gasp*, a non-taster. The latter title seems to imply you’re a lost cause in the kitchen, and it might be best to surrender your KitchenAid and find a new hobby now.

But what do these tags mean? I first read about the supertaster classification a couple of months back, when they popped up on a number of food blogs such as the Amateur Gourmet and the French Laundry Cookbook, and now a great number of people (especially those active in the food-blogging world) have come forward with the admission that they’re supertasters as well. Intrigued, and with visions of some kind of culinary superhero in my head, I googled the term and found out that the term supertaster simply means that your tongue has more tastebuds than average, which means you probably have a greater sensitivity to some flavours, especially bitter ones. This means that a supertaster often dislikes bitter foods such as beer, grapefruit, Brussels sprouts, coffee and spinach. However, Wikipedia makes sure to caution that “individual supertasters can certainly consume and enjoy these foods”. Phew. I was beginning to get worried there for a minute! It also seems that Asians and women are more often supertasters, and it isn’t exactly a rare trait: about one in four people is a supertaster, half of the people are tasters, and a very unlucky one in four is a non-taster. Being a non-taster means that you probably need more stimulation to taste something: more sugar in your tea, more salt on your fries, that sort of thing.

Well, that was certainly enlightening. But how do I find out whether I am a supertaster, or maybe even a non-taster? Luckily, there’s a website which sells a simple test you can do at home, which will tell you in a matter of seconds in which category you fall.

After reading all about these supertasters I couldn’t wait to find out whether I was one too, which would give me an excuse to brag about my culinary expertise to everyone! And I would finally have a plausible excuse as for why I refuse to eat grapefuit! Only good things could come out of this… if I turned out to be a supertaster, of course. But part of me was actually terrified I would turn out to be a mere taster, or, in my worst nightmares, a non-taster. I would no longer have any authority when it comes to culinary matters! Scorned by cooks, shunned by gourmets. A bleak future would await me.

I decided to face my fears and take the test. A couple of days later a small envelope came with the mail. Inside were two small paper strips, which I knew to be doused in the chemical propylthiouracil, which is the compound supertasters are sensitive to. If I were to taste nothing, I would be a non-taster. Slight bitterness would indicate that I am a taster, and only in the case of extreme bitterness I would be a supertaster. 

The little strips of paper in my hand would decide my future in cooking. But first, I needed someone to act as a guinea-pig with me. This fate befell my housemate Hester, who happened to be near. We each took a strip, placed it on our tongues, and started to count…

And after five seconds I spat the vile thing out. I have never tasted anything so bitter in my life. Hurrah! It seems I am a supertaster after all! Hester was not so lucky: she didn’t taste much, and has been agonising about it ever since. But I’m in the clear: I can be as pretentious about food as I want!

But all joking aside: I don’t really think that being a supertaster makes me a superior cook: if anything, I am more worried about my cooking than ever. If my family reaches for the salt after they’ve tasted a dish, I agonise about the seasoning. It still takes a lot of experience in the kitchen and plenty tasting before you can call yourself a good cook. And I don’t believe in using your supertaster-status as an excuse not to eat certain things: you can learn to eat anything. I do eat a lot of bitter foods supertasters are supposed to dislike, such as spinach and Brussels sprouts. I love beer. The only real food-problem I have is that really spicy foods make my mouth go numb, so I try to avoid these.

So my verdict about this test is that it’s fun to take (apart from the nasty taste), but it doesn’t really mean anything. A cook is more than his tastebuds: it takes dedication, and a willingness to try anything (no matter how disgusting it may seem)!