Tacos Or Kale — What Your Favorite Food & Taste Buds Reveal About Your Personality
Your taste buds reveal some interesting things about who you are.
Bobex-73 / Shutterstock Do you like food that packs heat, so you put it on absolutely everything — even bizarre things like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pancakes, and fruit salad? Perhaps salty is more your thing and you always go for the salty snacks.
We all have very distinctive taste buds; your favorite ice cream flavor may be delicious to you but might be completely revolting to me. And there's actual science behind why this happens.
Flavor profiles are a result of intricate interactions between various taste compounds, aroma molecules, and sensory receptors on our taste buds and in our olfactory system. The combination of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (savory) tastes, along with the perception of different aromas, creates a sensory experience that our brain interprets as a specific flavor.
This intricate science guides not only our culinary preferences but also influences our memories, emotions, and overall enjoyment of food. That is the reason why we each have different food preferences.
It can go even deeper, though. Our very favorite foods and tastes can reveal things about our personality type. So, what is the link between your personality type and your flavor preferences? Here's what your taste buds say about you.
What Your Favorite Flavor Says About Your Personality
1. Hot and spicy foods
Some like it hot, and that includes you. You're a daredevil and are willing to try almost anything. Change doesn't scare you — boring does. You'll go hotter and hotter and will try to resist drinking water unless you absolutely have to.
Capsaicin, the molecule that generates the heat sensation, is thought to decrease the risk of stomach cancer, but that's not why you enjoy heat so much.
When we ingest hot sauce or chili peppers, the hot sensation isn't just warm — it actually hurts. People who go for super-hot court danger and pain without much risk, and feel relief when the heat ends.
"People also come to like fear and arousal produced by rides on roller coasters, parachute jumping, or horror movies," Paul Rozin, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and head of a study conducted, wrote in the journal Motivation and Emotion. "Eating a hot pepper may be a form of masochism, an intentional soliciting of danger."
If you ever enjoyed spicy food, you may have a hidden daredevil within you.
2. Bitter foods
Bitter foods such as coffee, unsweetened chocolate, olives, endives, bitter melon, escarole, and kale are known to help manage cholesterol levels and assist in metabolizing fats, but some people just can't get past the bitterness.
According to a study published in the journal Appetite, if you like bitter-tasting foods and drinks, you might have a number of dark personality traits including selfishness, sadism, and narcissism. If bitter tastes are your thing, you may not only be antisocial, but a psychopath as well.
Researchers Christina Sagioglou and Tobias Greitemeyer, of the University of Innsbruck in Austria, found that bitter taste preferences were linked to some very unpleasant personality traits. "General bitter taste preferences emerged as a robust predictor for Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and everyday sadism," wrote the researchers.
3. Salty foods
If you crave potato chips, your body may actually be telling you that you have a mineral deficiency and need to get more potassium, calcium, and iron into your diet.
People who love salt tend to like to go with the flow but still get frustrated with life's little annoyances, such as not being able to get a spot out of their clothing or getting stuck in traffic. While they're competitive and ambitious, they still believe in destiny.
They are also incredibly curious creatures and tend to be big novelty-seekers. Though this food profile hasn't been confirmed by science, many agree with the personality.
4. Sweet foods
Got a sweet tooth? If sugar is your thing, it's very difficult to get over it. Sure, there are sugar substitutes, but they don't have the same kind of sweetness going for them.
Research suggests that liking sweet foods means you have a sweetheart personality. The study found that consuming sugary foods has the potential to enhance our agreeable and helpful tendencies, and emphasized that sweetness is a universally soothing and gratifying experience.
If you prefer sweet foods, you tend to like to walk on the wild side and take chances. If you're specifically into chocolate, you're helpful, emotionally vulnerable, charming, flirtatious, and somewhat of a drama queen.
But don't worry — you'll feel much better after you have your share of peanut butter cups, rocky road ice cream, or Kit Kat bars.
5. Tangy or citrus foods
People who prefer tangy, citrus, or sour foods may be anxious, stressed, and on high alert as far as your health goes. Luckily, the very things you crave can boost your immunity and lower your stress levels.
Individuals who have a preference for sour flavors tend to uphold elevated standards and are not readily satisfied. They might exhibit a tendency to be excessively discerning and severe at times. Additionally, they are prone to rapid anxiety and frequently engage in overthinking.
Certain studies have also established a connection between a preference for sour tastes and inclinations toward risk-taking and behaviors that lean toward anti-social tendencies.
6. Savory foods
People who want savory foods — such as tacos, cheeses, and steak — have a tendency to be a bit serious and may have a dry sense of humor. You enjoy all different kinds of spices as long as they aren't hot, and you have a very refined sense of taste.
You're a genius at noticing details and using all your senses (in addition to taste), like smell, touch, and even sound when eating or drinking. It's important to know that not much research has been given to this food profile.
You may enjoy a combination of these tastes, and that's great. The more open you are to trying new flavors and tastes, the more food choices you'll have.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer, performer, and frequent contributor to YourTango. She's had articles featured in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, Bustle, Medium, Huffington Post, Business Insider, and Woman's Day, among many others.