Are You a Supertaster?

Are you a supertaster -- faster than a speeding cookie, more powerful than peanut butter fudge, able to leap tall confections in a single bound? A friend of mine asserts that some people "taste more," when they eat, and those of us so blessed (or cursed) tend to put on weight because we simply enjoy food more. I've always thought it was wishful thinking on his part, but then I ran across an article on supertasters today, and I have to wonder if maybe he was on to something.

In 1931, a chemist at DuPont discovered a compound called PTC that some people found bitter, and others found tasteless. This led to studies that determined that some of us are tasting things that others are not, or perhaps just tasting certain things more intensely. There appears to be a genetic link. Most estimates suggest 25% of the population are nontasters, 50% are medium tasters, and 25% are supertasters. Women, Africans and Asians are more likely to be supertasters than the rest of the population.

There is a hole in my friend's theory. Supertasters tend to be finicky, and would be more likely to be fussy eaters than overeaters.

The BBC has a five-minute quiz that will help you determine if you're a supertaster.

Me? I haven't taken it yet. I may not want to know.

Tasters of every stripe should start gearing up for Saturday night, where deserts aplenty await your tasting. Super or otherwise.