The Taste Of Water.

[Atheist]

Odd question, I know. Bottled waters have distinct flavours, which is I presume because of dissolved minerals in them. But pure water seems to me to have no taste, and I find that odd. There's only two elements in water (hydrogen and oxygen) and that sounds rather pure and inoffensive and tasteless; but common salt also has two elements - sodium and chlorine - and it has a distinct taste. I suppose sodium and chlorine both sound like rather powerful elements, whereas hydrogen and oxygen both seem wispy and tasteless. On the other hand, hydrogen sulphide is disgusting and I guess it's the sulphur what does it.
Does anyone know what causes flavours?

[Buenchico]

From the US National Center for Biotechnology Information:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279408/

[JimF]

Mostly it's the way the taste buds on the tongue react to the stuff they come in contact with, but the sight and smell also play their part.

[Old_Geezer]

Maybe familiarity ensures the brain doesn't react to the signal of water flavour by detecting taste ? Maybe it just filters the signal out.

[Calibax]

Much of taste is due to the shape af the molecule and the way it fits to receptors on the tongue etc. rater that what element it is composed of. Many simple organic compounds are made of just carbon, hydrogen and oxygen like glucose, ethanol, acetic acid, acetone but they all taste very different. You aae right however that sulphur containing molecules such as are found in mustard, onion and garlic tend to share an acrid, pungent taste.
It's a complex issue.

[Atheist]

OG I was wondering about that. If creatures evolved in an environment where oxygen was poisonous, would they perhaps perceive it as tasting revolting and choking?

[Calibax]

*Rather than

[10ClarionSt]

Seen on bottled water in Tesco:

"Filtered over millions of years in the Mountains of Bavaria"

Best before Sept 2021.

[JimF]

https://www.google.com/search?q=does+sight+affect+taste&oq=taste+affected+by+sight&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i22i30j0i390.9799j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[Karolina82]

This is a complex issue.
We have evolved to sense water as tasteless and air as odourless. This shouldn't be surprising as they are in high concentrations everywhere.
We have evolved to sense that certain gases have repulsive odours, such as hydrogen sulphide: this shouldn't be surprising since this gas is often associated with putrid and decaying matter,
There is no obvious link between "rather powerful elements" and the smell associated with the compound.
For instance, sulphur hexafluoride gas is odourless. When breathed in it has the opposite effect to helium on the human voice. Instead of sounding like Mickey Mouse you sound like Darth Vader. (not recommended)

[neuron]

10 ClarionSt, assuming the bottle was plastic, the reason for the best before date is that the bottling company can't guarantee how much of the chemicals contained in the plastic leach out into the water beyond that date.

[alavahalf]

But if it's been millions of years in the making.. Surely you would expect it to last a week or two on the shelf ??

[davebro]

I guess it's the effect that certain molecules have on the sensory receptors in the mouth & nose. Actually what we think of as taste is more down to smell. People with their noses pinched & blindfold find it hard to distinguish the taste of different foods. And people become immune to stuff they are immersed in. I went to friend's house who breeds Shih Tzus and the doggy smell was overwhelming but she just can't smell it.

[johnny.5]

what do you mean by pure water ?

[ummmm]

My tap water is really nice. When i run the cold tap it smells like rain on a summers day. We don't get limescale either.

In my previous house I used to get dry skin. Since moving here, nothing.

I drink lots of water.

[tiggerblue10]

I detest the smell of chlorine (bleach) and can smell it a mile off. My tap water has a chlorine smell and also a taste that I don't like. I use a water filter which seems to lessen the horrible taste and smell.

[neuron]

Alavahalf, oh if only it were so. Chemicals theoretically leach from the plastic immediately after bottling. It's not reasonable for you to think of it lasting a week or two on the shelf because you have no idea when it was bottled.
Let's say the bottling company considers three years from bottling to the best before date a reasonably length of time: that bottle could have been knocking about in the distribution network for a pretty long time before it's seen the Tesco shelf.
Leaching of plastics from bottles to water not only depends on time but also on temperature. Lots of stuff on the web about this. It's so complicated that the bottlers have to put a date on the bottles just to be on the safe side.

[johnny.5]

but paper bottles might help solve this issue

[Karolina82]

Glass might be even better.

[alavahalf]

neuron.. thanks for your concern but you really don't have to worry about me.. having led a sheltered life I have never bought bottled water other than when abroad..!

[jennyjoan]

when my American friend comes home - she just says the water here in Belfast is absolutely beautiful

it just tastes like from a well (mind you haven't tasted much water from a well lately).

From I left work I have stopped drinking as much water but hope to return to drinking more.