Extreme jndulgence

　　Your eletronic games shout “Interactive”,

　　Your sports scream “thrill”,

　　And your movies flash “high-action”.

　　Chanes are, what you eat and what you drink are equally stimulating.

　　过分享受

　　Your electronic games shout “interactive”, your sports scream “thrill”, and your movies flash “hight-action”. Chances are, what you eat and what you drink are equally stimulating.

　　We live in a sensory-overloaded environment. So, why not take taste to the extreme and indulge in intense flavors? Brand-name products like Doritos “Sonic Sour Cream” chips, Powerade “Green Squall” sports drink, Ice Breakers mints, and Sour Patch Kids deliver catchy names, eye-catching colors, and flavor. You may prefer your lunch or dinner to be mildly flavored, but when it comes to snack food, you break loose and take a risk.

　　According to Tom Vierhile of Marketing Intelligence Service, Naples, NY, new lines and new varieties of products in the sour and intense flavor categories rose steadily in the’90s. “Interest in flavors continues to be there,” states Vierhile. “[Sour and intense] have been around long enough not to be a fad.”

　　Psychologists and consumer specialists study the behavior of potential buyers of these products. Amanda Smith, consumer insights specialist at International Flavors & Fragrances, Dayton, NJ, states that “kids’ opinions count”, when her company is developing a new, bolder flavor. Youth, whose taste buds are keener than adults , paradoxically favor flavors twice as intense as those preferred by adults. Smith believes there are several reasons for this preference. “Kids like fun products,” she says. “They like competitions with Warheads [an intensely sour candy], for instance, and they ask, ‘How can I be free of my parents’ influence?’”

　　At Youth Market Systems Consulting, Glendale, CA, psychologist Dan S. Acuff explains the underlying reason behind marketing intense flavors to teens. It is “a very experimental stage of life” that involves “trying out all kinds of experiences”, he explains. “Liking intense flavors is a sort of macho ritual” with boys, he adds.

　　At Nabisco, Inc., East Hanover, NJ, John Barrows of the life Savers divisions explains that Ice Breakers gum was a five-year research and development effort that produced TFC, Tiny Flavor Capsules. Using a liquid mint flavor in a capsule that breaks when the product is chewed, Ice Breakers gum entered the market in 1995. Five years later, Ice Breakers mints appeared, followed by “Cool Blasts” mints. “It’s a smaller mint, absolutely powerful, just a blast of mint,” reports Barrows.

　　In 1999, Powerade “Green Squall” was on the leading edge of more intensely flavored beverages. It boasted a “fierce” blend of melon, pineapple, and other fruit flavors and a “grasshopper juice” color. Earlier in the decade, Altoids high-intensity breath mints started a trend for intense flavors. Ice Breakers and Powerade are two products that now ride the waves of the interest Altoids stirred.

　　Manufacturing Intensity

　　Just how is “intense” flavor achieved? “Flavor systems are fairly simple,” says Mary Svoboda, creative flavorist at Edgar A. Weber & Co., Wheeling, IL. “Products are over-flavored－for instance, with a lot of citric acid,” she states. An extremely intense product like Mega Warheads, launched in 1993, contains three acids: malic, citric, and ascorbic. It’s wise to read the warning on the package in this particular case: Eating multiple pieces may cause a temporary irritation.

　　Flavor itself is a complex sensory experience involving taste and smell. To chemosensory scientists at Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, taste means four sensations: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, plus a fifth sensation known as savory or “umami,” a Japanese term translated “wonderful taste.”

　　These five taste qualities are detected by specialized receptors on the tongue and palate called fungiform papillae or taste buds. We experience flavor not only through the function of these taste receptors, but also through smell from the aroma of food in our mouths.

　　According to neurologist Alan R. Hirsch of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, Chicago, IL, approximately 90 percent of what we call taste or flavor is really aroma. “Here, I’ll try eating carrot and potato,” he says in a simple experiment holding his nose closed. Seconds later, he remarks, “They taste the same－ like cardboard.” The conclusion is simple－ no smell, no taste! We’ve all experienced it when we have a cold.

　　Here’s how taste and smell work.

　　Molecules from food we are chewing or swallowing travel to the back of the mouth and into the upper nasal cavity through the oropharynx. From there they make their way to the olfactory epithelium and then on to the olfactory nerve of the brain.

　　Smell that comes from the mouth through the back of the throat to the nose is described as taste and called retronasal. Retronasal smell is a form of synesthesia, a condition in which the sensory stimulus of smell is misperceived as taste.

　　Taste and smell mingle and we experience flavor. Now add another sensation called chemesthesis. Its influence further complicates how we experience flavor.

　　According to Svoboda, the menthol in intense mints causes a physical sensation that is called trigeminal. Hirsch further explains that menthol or even super sour acts as an irritant and stimulates the fifth cranial nerve－called the trigeminus－producing a trigeminal effect.

　　What does that mean to someone who loves hot chili pepper, for example? Jennifer Crouch, sensory analyst at David Michael & Co., Philadelphia, PA, speculates that the trigeminal effect may explain in part the popularity of intense flavors today. Trigeminal nerve endings, located in the lower jaw, nose, and eyes, permit a feeling of irritation or pain. “It makes you seem more adventurous, like, ‘Wow, I feel this!’” suggests Crouch. She admits that trigeminal effect is not intentionally figured into the development of a new flavor.

　　Besides the chemical “heat” of chili, there are numerous other trigeminal effects. According to Crouch, among these are: the “drying” effect of highly acidic citrus, the “burn” of highly salted food, the “bite” of horseradish, the “prickle” of carbonation. Horseradish, by the way, is considered by some to be the “taste” of umami.

　　What trend in flavor does the first decade of the new millennium hold? If the beginning of year 2000 is any indication, sour and intense flavors will continue to rule.

　　Predictions are that products in the future will possess even more bizarre colors and more interactive possibilities to intrigue the multisensory indulgent. When it comes to flavor, the number and complexity of possible sensations is enormous. No need to limit yourself to the basic five taste sensations when there are smell and chemesthesis to throw into the flavor pot.

　　你玩的电子游戏是“互动”的，从事的运动是“亢奋”的，观赏的电影是“惊险的”。你吃的和你喝的可能同样令人刺激。

　　我们生活在一个充满了感官刺激的环境中。那么，我们为什么不把味道调到极限，然后自己好好享受一番呢？像“奶油酸薯条”、“绿色呼啸”运动饮料、“破冰”薄荷糖和“酸甜”糖果这样一些知名商标的食品名字诱人，颜色惹眼，口味独特。你可能更喜欢口味适中的午饭和晚饭。可是，吃零食时，你就要放纵一下自己了，愿意冒一点风险。

　　纽约那不勒斯营销情报部的汤姆·维耶里说，在90年代，拥有酸味等强烈口味的新类别和品种的产品急剧上升。“人们现在对口味的兴趣仍未衰减，”他说，“这些口味存在了这么长时间，已经不再是一种时尚了。”

　　心理学家和消费品专家们研究了这些产品的潜在购买者的行为。阿曼达·史密斯是坐落在新泽西州代顿市国际口味和香味公司的消费者分析专家。她说当她的公司在开发一种新的更大胆的口味时， 只有“儿童的意见才算数。”年轻人的味蕾比成年人要敏感得多。但矛盾的是，他们喜欢的口味强度却是成年人的两倍。之所以如此，史密斯认为有三个原因。她说：“孩子们喜欢新奇的产品。比如，他们喜欢同‘弹头’牌强力酸味糖较劲。他们问：‘我怎样才能不受父母的影响呢？’”

　　在加利福尼亚州格林代市青少年市场体系咨询公司中，心理学家丹·S·阿科夫指出了向青少年营销强烈口味的深层原因。“那正是一个生命中喜欢尝试各种经历的阶段。”他解释道，“男孩子们对于强烈口味的热衷显示出他们的男子气概。”

　　新泽西州东汉诺瓦市纳比斯科公司的约翰·巴罗解释说，破冰牌口香糖经过了五年的研究和开发，最后才有了TFC（微小苦味胶囊）。胶囊中是薄荷口味的液体。口香糖被嚼开后，胶囊就破了。这种产品于1995年上市。5年后，破冰薄荷出现了，随后出现了“寒冷风暴”牌薄荷。巴罗说：“这种薄荷虽然外形小一些，但威力巨大，就像薄荷爆炸了的感觉一样。”

　　1999年，威力公司的“绿色呼啸”牌领先于强烈口味的饮料。这种饮料声称混合了西瓜、菠萝和其他水果的口味，并有一种“蚂蚱饮料”的颜色。90年代初，奥托德强力薄荷开创了追求强烈口味的潮流。破冰和威力现在主导着奥托德掀起的这一浪潮。

　　制造强烈口味

　　“强烈”口味是如何获得的呢？玛丽·斯沃博达说：“制造口味的方法很简单。比如，某些产品靠大量的柠檬酸来增强口味”。 玛丽是富有创造性的口味专家， 供职于伊利诺斯州威灵市的埃德加·A·韦伯公司。像1993年推出的“超级弹头”那种口味非常重的产品就含有三种酸：苹果酸、柠檬酸和抗坏血酸。在这种特殊的情况下，读一读包装上的警告是明智之举：吃很多片会引起短暂的不适。

　　口味本身是一种涉及味觉和嗅觉的复杂的感官体验。对位于宾夕法尼亚州的蒙奈尔化学感应中心的化学感应专家们来说，味觉意味着4种感觉：“甜、酸、咸和苦，外加第5种可口的感觉。Umami 一词来自日语，意思是“味道好极了”。

　　舌头和上颚的专门接收器，也就是味蕾，能感觉到这五种味道。我们并不仅仅通过这些味觉接收器来感觉口味，还可以从口中食物散发出的香味体会到各种口味。

　　艾伦·R·赫利西是伊利诺斯州芝加哥市嗅觉与味觉治疗与研究基金会的神经病学家。他说，大约90%的我们所谓的味道或口味实际上是香味。在一次简单的实验中，他捏住了鼻子，说：“我要试着吃一些土豆和胡萝卜。”不大一会儿，他说：“这些东西味道一样，跟纸板没什么区别。”结论很简单：没有嗅觉就没有味觉。我们感冒的时候都有这种经历。

　　味觉和嗅觉是这样起作用的

　　我们咀嚼和吞咽的食物分子运动到口腔后部并通过咽喉进入鼻腔上部。从那里它们进入嗅觉膜上，然后继续进入到大脑的嗅觉神经。

　　来自于口腔中的气味通过咽喉后部到达鼻腔。这种气味被描述成味道，又称为鼻腔后味道。鼻腔后味道是一种形式的联觉状态。在这种状态下，嗅觉的感官刺激被误认为是味觉。

　　味觉和嗅觉混合起来的时候，我们就感觉到了口味。现在我们再加上一种名为化学感应的感觉。它的影响使我们对口味的体验变得更为复杂。

　　据斯沃博达说，强力薄荷中的薄荷醇给人们带来一种名为三叉神经效应的物理刺激。赫利西进一步解释说，薄荷醇或者甚至强酸的物质可以作为刺激物，刺激第五根颅脑神经（三叉神经）而产生三叉神经刺激。

　　这对于那些喜欢吃辣椒的人意味着什么呢？珍妮弗·克劳奇是宾夕法尼亚州费城的大卫·迈克尔公司的感观分析师。她推测说，三叉神经效应能部分解释今天强烈口味如此受欢迎的原因。三叉神经末稍位于下颚、鼻腔和眼睛里，会使人感觉不适或痛苦。克劳奇说：“这使得你似乎更渴望冒险，就像你会喊：‘哦，我感觉到了！’”她承认人们在开发一种新口味时并未特意地去考虑三叉神经效应。

　　除了辣椒的化学“热”效应外，还有很多其他的三叉神经效应。据克劳奇讲，这些效应包括：来自非常酸的柑桔的“干”效应，非常咸的食物的“灼烧”效应，碳酸饮料的“刺痛”效应。顺便提一下，辣根被一些人认为有“美妙”的味道。

　　在新千年的前十年又有什么新口味流行呢？如果2000年初能显示什么的话，酸和强口味还会流行。

　　我们预测将来产品的颜色会更奇特，并会具有更多的互动特性，使人在多种感官上得到享受。就口味而言，会有大量的、复杂的感官刺激。当嗅觉和化学感应在起作用的时候，你就不必把自己限制在对五种味觉的感受上了。