How sensitive is your palate?

[RonB]

I don't remember seeing this question before, but at my age, memory is not always reliable.

I'm not pickin' on anyone or any group, but here are 2 examples:

1 - Some people put a lot of effort into their coffee. Roast their own beans, grind and brew, method of brewing, etc. I use an Aeropress for the one cup a day I drink and I can't tell the difference between waiting 30 sec or 3 min in brew time. I do grind my beans, but that's mainly because it seems that there's a wider variety of whole beans.

2 - Some here can tell the difference in flavor using different types of wood when smoking something. Using my kettle, I can't. I may be able to tell using my Santa Maria accessory with my kettle, but I haven't done that experiment yet.

So, (bold so the "so" haters will notice ), how sensitive is your palate?

[LA Pork Butt]

My palate isn’t very sensitive as to pick up nuances. It is more like on or off. It is good, not good and okay.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

I have the palate of a junk yard dog....

[Jerod Broussard]

Bout choked on my cough drop

[Smoker_Boy]

My wife and I did a pellet experiment.

No difference.

...

[Johnny Booth]

My nose is more sensitive than my tongue. I can taste the differences in the obvious smoke (like hickory or mesquite). When my pit is burning, I can sometimes tell between mesquite, hickory, oak, and cherry. I can always sense if the fire is clean or dirty, and if the wood is too wet or too dry.

[Mosca]

Sometimes? It depends on whether I’m dining, eating, or just shoveling stuff down my maw. Some foods I make because I crave big flavors: salsas, tacos, chili, etc. Other foods I make to enjoy the nuances: prime steak, fancy pestos, etc. And some foods I make to satisfy a need to bulk out: potato salad, Mac & cheese, stuff like that. “Shovel food”, we used to call it in my family when I was a kid.

Coffee, I can tell the difference between different cultivars: Caribbean is different from Hawaiian is different from Indonesian is different from African. It’s pretty pronounced. As far as brewing, I can tell the difference between Mr Coffee drip roast and some guy who takes 10 minutes to grind beans he roasted himself to brew a cup in a high falutin’ coffee house, but everything inbetween is about the same, except for bad coffee is pretty obvious.

Wood, nope. The difference between applewood smoked bacon and hickory smoked bacon is really obvious, but in a BGE it’s all just smoke. Maybe in a stickburner it’s different? Idk.

[Johnny Booth]

In my experience, stick burners are different. Having cooked on charcoal smokers and stick burners. Naturally seasoned wood retains more smell and flavor. For me, charcoal, kiln-dried chunks, and pellets don’t compare to seasoned wood.

[jlazar]

I used to grind my own beans but stopped when the MIL passed. Now I am the only coffee drinker and usually only one cup. So I go quick and easy with a Keurig. Not as good but faster.

Regarding wood, I cannot tell the difference in flavor as much as the difference in smoke intensity. Biggest difference is between cherry and mesquite.

[PGH_RAM]

Like Mosca, I can tell the difference between different coffee regions when drinking the good stuff. SWMBO and I grind our own beans, but we buy them already roasted. We have a coffee pot that blooms the grounds, too, and I can tell when we forget to use that feature. All that having been said, I still have a portion of travelling salesman in me who enjoys a couple of mugs of diner coffee to wash down a chili dog.

When it comes to wood smoke, my palate is still learning. I can tell the difference in smell and flavor between mesquite, hickory, and fruit woods, but I can't tell much difference in flavor between the two fruit woods I've used so far (apple and cherry).

[Finster]

Not nearly as sensitive as Royal Auto…. IYKYK

[Purc]

I can tell over smoked vrs acceptable smoke, but I don't think I can tell between hickory cherry, apple, etc especially when you add a rub or sauce. I grind my own beans and I have a SCA approved coffee maker and I can say I like or don't like the coffee but I can't pick out very specific flavors or regions. Hot and black, I can't drink warm coffee. I think coffee smells better than it tastes. Flavors of beer and wine are easier for me to detect. Bourbon Whiskey I like or don't like and I taste sweetness or not. Scotch Whisky, I don't like smokey, peaty flavors. I wish I had a better palate. Maybe I should take a tasting course of some kind.

[Oak Smoke]

I’m not a coffee drinker any more so I can’t tell you anything about coffee now. Years ago most oilfield coffee was strong, bitter, and cheap. I had to have some sugar to get it down. I can tell the difference in some smoke flavors. Like others I can tell mesquite and love the taste of apple. I do a fair job of deconstructing food at restaurants to be able to make it at home. I do appreciate the subtle differences some cooks can highlight in their foods.

[DavidNorcross]

For some things very sensitive for others not so much. For coffee? Yes! I am a snob

[yakima]

My palate may not exist. Olive oil descriptions (Fresh Pressed Olive Oil) are like wine descriptions, Who are these people? My typical reaction is "Really!" I can differentiate between mild, medium, and bold oils. Beyond that, anything I might say would just be purple prose. I can distinguish mesquite from other lump, but only burn apple or cherry wood. No discernible difference there. A game changer for me is introduction to better olive oils and balsamic vinegar. Clearly better than commodity products, but do not look for descriptive prose from me.

[Steve B]

I actually belong to the FPOO club. Although my palate is not the best I can tell the difference, most of the time, between the three levels of mild to bold. Some of their oils have very little distinction between them, others have a lot. I guess it depends on where they are from and which ones they choose to produce.
But I mainly get these olive oils just to have a better product. Not so much as to make a dish taste different.

[Mosca]

Wegman’s used to have different EVOOs: Sicilian, Calabrian, etc. There was a difference, but I didn’t have a preference. Some were nuttier, some were pepperier, all were excellent.

I have a bottle of cooking olive oil and a bottle of dressing olive oil… and I’ve found that I use the cooking oil all the time, and the dressing oil rarely! Which is good, because one costs about half as much for twice the volume.

[Johnny Booth]

We went on a Mediterranean cruise and got to stop at an olive oil producer.
When they put all the different oils in front of us, and told us what to expect, we could taste and smell the difference. We bought one of each. When we got home, the education was lost. 😕

[jfmorris]

I can tell the difference between crappy generic pre-ground coffee, and quality beans that are fresh ground, when it comes to my coffee. That said... due to budget constraints lately, I've been buying Members Mark ground coffee and K-cups at Sam's Club, and foregoing the locally roasted coffee beans that are up around $19 a pound right now.

For smoke, I can tell hickory and mesquite from oak, fruit and nut woods, but I cannot discern a difference in flavor/aroma between the oak, fruit and nut woods. I.e. apple/pecan/cherry all produce the same results to my taste buds. The only wood chunks I have at the moment are hickory, an old bag of mesquite, post oak mini-splits, and some apple.

For me, it really comes down to mild smoke (oak/fruit/nut) and stronger smoke (hickory and mesquite).

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

My wife might be a super taster, I am not. It either tastes good or it doesn't. I appreciate things with effort put into them, but at home if the end result even tastes close I'm going with the lazy way the next time. When I prepare foods for others I absolutely try to use as many fresh ingredients as possible, but just for me? I'm using the jar of minced garlic and expired dried spices