Brain&Force
Hazard to Lanthanides
Posts: 1302
Registered: 13-11-2013
Location: UW-Madison
Member Is Offline
Mood: Incommensurately modulated
|
|
Root beer
I wish I could turn this into a poll, but I think it's better off here than in Miscellaneous.
Some people think root beer is an awesome drink (e.g. me and my dad). Others think that root beer tastes like toothpaste (e.g. my mom and the freshly
resurrected NurdRage):
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The genetics of taste is interesting. To most people root beer is sweet. To me and very few
others, it tastes like toothpaste. Weird eh?</p>— NurdRage (@NurdRage) <a
href="https://twitter.com/NurdRage/statuses/237409792090583041">August 20, 2012</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I'm wondering, what compounds are there that make root beer taste like toothpaste? If it helps, I have an odd reaction to PTC paper: I find it bitter,
but I don't have a violently bad reaction to it as many as my PTC+ friends have. So I'm not sure if I can taste it or not - it could just be the
paper. There are multiple genes that code for PTC tasting, so the response may vary between populations, and there may be a gene that codes for the
strength of the response (more research is needed in the area).
At the end of the day, simulating atoms doesn't beat working with the real things...
|
|
|
argyrium
Hazard to Others
Posts: 123
Registered: 3-2-2008
Location: Pacific
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
...."I have an odd reaction to PTC paper: "..
What is PTC paper, please?
|
|
|
Brain&Force
Hazard to Lanthanides
Posts: 1302
Registered: 13-11-2013
Location: UW-Madison
Member Is Offline
Mood: Incommensurately modulated
|
|
Paper impregnated with phenylthiocarbamide, which only some people are able to taste (it's an odd mutation).
At the end of the day, simulating atoms doesn't beat working with the real things...
|
|
|
Crowfjord
Hazard to Others
Posts: 390
Registered: 20-1-2013
Location: Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ever so slowly crystallizing...
|
|
According to Wikipedia, among the flavoring ingredients in modern root beer is methyl salicylate, which is minty tasting. Some people must be
sensitive to this over the other flavors used.
Some people also think that cilantro tastes like soap.
|
|
|
Texium
Administrator
Posts: 4516
Registered: 11-1-2014
Location: Salt Lake City
Member Is Online
Mood: PhD candidate!
|
|
Hm, that's interesting. I must say, I don't really like root beer all that much. I'll drink it in a pinch if there's nothing else, but I definitely
get the toothpaste thing out of it. It still tastes somewhat sweet to me, but the main flavor I get is kind of bitter and medicinal.
|
|
|
cyanureeves
National Hazard
Posts: 737
Registered: 29-8-2010
Location: Mars
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
to me cilantro tastes like all the goodness of the garden combined but can also see where soap comes to mind.i think some people eat herbs and spices
like one eats a steak and expect them to be delicious.most spices and herbs are meant to enhance flavors and i think root beer is a very unique
wonderful taste.i can forgive nurd rage for his root beer/toothpaste comparison but if he is a chocolate covered cherry disliker, then he is just lost
in this world.my neighbor didnt like chocolate covered cherries when we were kids and that made him lesser than an ant to me.very odd world we live
in.
|
|
|
TheChemiKid
Hazard to Others
Posts: 493
Registered: 5-8-2013
Location: ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿'̿'̵͇̿̿з=༼ ▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿ ̿ ༽
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
My mom and I love root beer, but my dad and my brother think it tastes like toothpaste.
When the police come
\( * O * )/ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿'̿'̵͇̿̿з=༼ ▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿ ̿ ༽
|
|
|
gregxy
Hazard to Others
Posts: 421
Registered: 26-5-2006
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Try making your own root beer. You can buy concentrate on Ebay. Add sugar and yeast then seal in bottles. The yeast produces CO2 which carbonates
the root beer! Tastes better than the one in stores. But measure the yeast carefully and use strong bottles or else they will explode!
The list of indigents in the concentrate was "alcohols , aldehydes, esters". Not telling you much are they.
[Edited on 2-7-2014 by gregxy]
[Edited on 2-7-2014 by gregxy]
|
|
|
Crowfjord
Hazard to Others
Posts: 390
Registered: 20-1-2013
Location: Pacific Northwest
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ever so slowly crystallizing...
|
|
I did that in high school, it was fun and simple. Tasted just a bit yeasty, like fresh bread dough. I'd like to try again some day, maybe do it the
"old fashioned" way, with real sassafras root, maybe some sarsaparilla too. Ale yeast would make for an interesting change from the bread yeast I used
in school. Might improve the flavor.
|
|
|
zed
International Hazard
Posts: 2277
Registered: 6-9-2008
Location: Great State of Jefferson, City of Portland
Member Is Offline
Mood: Semi-repentant Sith Lord
|
|
Root beer isn't root beer anymore. The root in question being sassafras root. In the mid-sixties, government folks whipped up a theory that both
saffrole and isosafrole were potential carcinogens. They haven't been allowed in commercial root-beers since.
Various simulants are now used, but modern root beer doesn't really taste like root beer anymore.
Period.
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xpblue/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
