Comments on: Ten tips for practical molecular gastronomy, part 6

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:53:57 +0000

I love your blog, and it’s not because I agree with everything you say, but you have lots of clear, well-defended ideas, good links, and the occasional pretty picture.

As far as the adaptation bit goes, in the book “Stumbling on Happiness,” Daniel Gilbert addresses this subject from a neuropsychology perspective using fine dining as the framework. The language of the book is simple, with lots of references and does a good job relating biochemical receptors directly back to the level of happiness experienced.

I don’t know if this does or does not interest you, but the book has actually been quite helpful in my approach to cooking (which, the way I see it should be a way of making people happy) and has relevance to molecular gastronomy in general and this subject in particular.

By: Martin Lersch

Martin Lersch — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:04:12 +0000

Interesting comment! I must admit that the the difference between the adaption mechanisms goes way beyond my level of understanding

I am aware that perfumes (and probably eau de colognes?) are designed for a sequential release of odors (but I didn’t know that this is not the case for ‘ck one’ – fascinating!). Regarding eau de cologne, I noticed that the first few days using a new brand I could smell it throughout the day. However, after weeks and months it seems as if I’ve gotten used to it and I’m not able to detect is as well as before. That’s why I’ve speculated about a day-to-day habituation.

By: Mirko Junge

Mirko Junge — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 21:14:01 +0000

The reference to adaptation to the odor of perfume is only valid for ‘ck one’, but not for ‚normal’ perfumes as Luca Turin (this is more informative) stated in his column on perfume in the NZZ-folio magazine. ‘Normal perfumes’ have different phases of odor release as a direct consequence of the volatility of the components used in the formulation: some fragrances for early release, some for the ‘body of odor’. Furthermore the there seems to be a fundamental difference between taste and olfaction adaptation: The former adaptation seems to be a function of the chorda tympani nerve (Zottermann, p.114) and is already occurring at sub-threshold stimuli (Pfaffmann, p.90) whereas the later (olfaction) seems to be mediated by a central mechanism (Engen, p.219). Engen, Trygg in Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Chemical Senses 1 Olfaction, Ed. Beidler, Lloyd M., Springer-Verlag 1971 Pfaffmann, Carl et al. in Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Chemical Senses 2 Taste, Ed. Beidler, Lloyd M., Springer-Verlag 1971 Zotterman, Yngve in Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Chemical Senses 2 Taste, Ed. Beidler, Lloyd M., Springer-Verlag 1971