Clacton-ammer wrote:Coz the butter/marg aint on/in the banana, the banana / butter chemicals mix together immediately, changing the chemicals of said parts, thus changing taste slightly, it's all about the science innit
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i]I may have made some or all of that up though..[/i]
It is about the science, but what actually happens is that the combination of banana, bread, butter/spread, the amount present, and the timing of mastication will have an effect upon the rate of the flavour molecules being released.
The fat in the butter/spread will bind certain molecules, suppressing their volatility, and preventing them from reaching the nasal epithelium when combined at source i.e. in a sandwich, but when eaten separately they don't, or they do but slightly later, by which time your brain has already processed the information and decided how it tastes.
Flavour is perceived in the brain, not in the mouth/nose, and what we perceive is a change in concentration of the various molecules. If nothing is changing i.e.at equilibrium, we perceive nothing. Think about it; when you walk into a room you can smell the ambient aroma - the air freshener used, or the carpet cleaner, or the smell of the people already there. After 90 seconds or so, you don't, but those volatile aroma molecules are still present, but since they are no longer changing, we do not perceive them.
If you take your favourite meal, a full english for example, and put it in a blender, it will have the same molecular make-up, the same nutritional value, the same average colour even etc but it will not taste as good as when you combine the elements your self, in your mouth - the mixture and difference in taste and texture between egg, sausage, bacon, fried bread etc is soooo good because of the changes happening in your nose and mouth. And how good does the tea/coffee taste afterwards?
If you're interested there has been some pretty heavy duty research and science on this matter. Seriously, someone gets paid to study this !!