Humans experience thousands of flavors with our noses; however, we are only capable of experiencing four basic taste sensations on our tongues — sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Of our five senses, our sense of smell is approximately a thousand times more sensitive than our sense of taste; everything else is considered flavor. Try this exercise: Hold your nose closed as you put a spoonful of honey on your tongue. What do you taste? A sweet liquid but no real flavor? Now, unplug your nose and inhale; immediately you smell its flavor. When you open your nose the aromas go up your nose into your olfactory bulb, which is where we taste.

Next, pour a few tablespoons of honey into a small glass jar, cup both hands around it to warm the honey, and with a spoon swirl it around the edges to move the molecules. Notice the honey’s color and texture. There are seven designated colors of honey — water white, extra white, white, extra light amber, light amber, amber, and dark amber. Now stick your nose inside the jar and take a deep smell. This is the best way to capture the honey’s aromas. Take a spoonful onto your tongue and let it melt; then inhale to smell the honey’s flavors. Can you identify the flavors? You can use words like floral, fruity, grassy, or woody. The more honey you taste, the more you will determine its multitude of flavors. Taste, flavor, and texture experienced together are the main components that impart flavor in our mouth.