CDT Fall 2022 - 34

fountain or those in the breakfast beverage line start
grumbling about the quality and taste of water, there
could be good reason. Again, they are not harmful, but
these disinfectants affect the aroma and taste
of water.
Another substance found in water is organic matter
from algae or bacteria as well as particulates from
pesticides, solvents, and industrial products. These
materials are also harmless and can contribute earthy
or metallic flavors in water.
The final culprit affecting flavor in water is minerals. As
rainwater passes through the soil, minerals leach from
the ground into the water passing through. An excess
of these minerals is called hard water and can also
affect flavor.
DEFINING " GREAT "
TASTING WATER
It is acceptable to allow harmless public water
processing chemicals and minerals in water for
consumption, but the opposite is true when it comes
to flavor. These substances absolutely alter the feel,
taste, and smell of water, the sensory experience
known as flavor.
Flavor develops from signals that converge in the
brain from your nose, mouth, and tongue as follows:
Picture a freeze-frame image of the human mouth mid-sip.
Now, increase the size so that you can see all the receptors
on the entire surface of the mouth that sense the feeling
of the food or drink. The consistency, the viscosity, weight,
and fullness are a tactile sense of flavor called mouthfeel.
The feeling of your food affects flavor as much as the other
two components, taste and smell.
Taste buds on the tongue, receptors that send messages to
the brain about the following 5 different types of tastes:
salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and savory, combine signals
from another receptor called the olfactory bulb in upper
airways of the nose. Flavor is a perception generated
by all these senses.
Those acceptable processing chemicals, organic
substances, particles, and chemicals dissolved in water
will affect flavor unless you account for their presence
in the tap water. The best method for managing tap
water is to address your water dispensers' filtration
and pick methods that work best to filter out
unwanted substances while maintaining the nutrients
and minerals that make for great tasting water.
Baked products
like fi sh, meat
and vegetables
have improved
taste when the
correct water
filter is used to
remove elements
such as chlorine.
34 CAMPUS DINING TODAY | CRAFTING WATER: THE SECRET BEHIND GREAT TASTING FOOD & BEvERAGE
CDT Fall 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CDT Fall 2022
