It never happens with sweet, salty, or bitter things – then why do sour eatables make our mouth water? It’s how our brain “decodes” the food item in question. Our brain has a lot of saved data – memories, senses, reactions and much more. It also has stored information about tastes – sweet and salty are pleasant, and the brain knows these are good to the tongue. Bitter gives a negative reaction – the brain knows it might be poisonous, and harmful.
Sour on the other hand, has a different story. The sour taste receptors on our tongue know that the stinging item is a source of irritant, and, as a reaction, our mouth will pucker, our eyes will narrow, and our nose will wrinkle. Our mouth secretes “water” (actually it’s saliva) , which is an attempt by the body to reduce the effect of the sourness. It’s not just sourness – a similar thing can happen with very salty or spicy food! The extra saliva secreted not just alleviates the sour taste, it also aids in digestion.
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