The Science Behind the Foods We Love (and the Ones We Hate!)

In Utero: Bitter Flavor

Your DNA determines how many taste buds you have on your tongue. Researchers have dubbed the quarter of the population on the high end of the taste-bud spectrum "supertasters"—and they're more likely to be women than men. Supertasters might experience a food three times more intensely than their lesser-budded counterparts, making sweet taste sweeter, salt taste saltier—and bitter taste more bitter. While a tongue with fewer taste buds may relish black coffee, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, a person with an abundance of buds might find these foods too pungent for her palate.