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of the Year is a seven-week

1:00

philanthropic leadership development program for

1:02

high school students. Participants form strong

1:04

teams and fundraise in honor of

1:07

a pediatric blood cancer survivor in

1:09

their local community. This program is

1:11

transformative. It not only helps students

1:13

develop valuable life skills like project

1:16

management, communication, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship,

1:18

not to mention it looks great

1:20

on college applications, but most importantly,

1:22

is also a chance for them

1:24

to engage in meaningful work within

1:27

their community and make a real

1:29

impact on blood cancer patients and

1:31

their families. You can learn

1:33

more about Student Visionaries of the Year or

1:36

even nominate a

1:38

student at lls.org/students.

1:40

That's lls.org/students. Hello

1:45

and welcome to this bonus episode of

1:47

Happier with Gretchen Rubin. To

1:49

show my appreciation for the support

1:51

and enthusiasm of listeners, I'm

1:54

providing an excerpt from the audiobook of

1:56

my latest book, Life in Five Senses,

2:00

the senses got me out of my head and

2:02

into the world, now available

2:04

in paperback. This

2:06

excerpt is from the chapter Tasting,

2:08

The Taste of the Tea and

2:10

the Cake, or Why Ketchup

2:13

is Magic. It

2:15

was so much fun to work on

2:17

this section of the book, and by

2:20

the way, ever since the book has

2:22

come out, people have wanted to talk

2:24

to me about why ketchup is magic.

2:27

I hope you enjoy listening to this

2:29

excerpt. Tasting

2:39

the Taste of the Tea and the Cake,

2:41

or Why Ketchup is Magic.

2:46

Once could it have come to me

2:48

this all-powerful joy. I was

2:50

conscious that it was connected with the taste of

2:52

the tea and the cake, but

2:54

that it infinitely transcended those

2:57

savors. Marcel Proust,

3:00

Swansway. Because

3:03

it was the height of summer, the

3:05

air had a baked, trapped quality. Except

3:08

when I could find some shade from

3:11

a building, the sun beat down on

3:13

me from above, and heat radiated upward

3:15

from the sidewalks and streets. The

3:17

breeze created by passing traffic lifted

3:20

dust and trash without creating any

3:22

cool relief. The sky was

3:24

so bright that if I had forgotten my

3:26

sunglasses, I would have had to turn back.

3:29

I was walking from a meeting to my

3:31

subway stop when suddenly I felt extremely

3:34

thirsty. I didn't have

3:36

to walk far before I found a

3:38

handy corner store, and I stepped inside

3:40

to survey the contents of the beverage

3:42

cooler. Alongside the usual

3:44

assortment of soft drinks and energy drinks,

3:47

I spotted a snapple Diet Peach

3:50

Tea. I hadn't seen that label

3:52

in years. I paid, and as

3:54

soon as I was back on the sidewalk,

3:56

gulped down a mouthful. The

3:59

sweet, smooth fruity flavor instantly

4:01

transported me back to law

4:03

school. Students were

4:05

required to spend a certain amount of

4:08

money in the law school cafeteria, and

4:10

I drank gallons of Diet Peach

4:12

Snuffle there. By the time

4:14

I graduated, I was thoroughly tired

4:17

of it. But now,

4:19

after so many years, the tea

4:22

delighted me. After the

4:24

first swig, I slowed down to

4:26

savor it like an expert. I

4:28

switched it around in my mouth

4:30

to appreciate its over-the-top peach kick

4:32

and its surprising dusty note. Its

4:34

flavor brought back the intense, cloistered

4:37

atmosphere of that time. Jamie

4:40

had been in law school with me, so

4:42

with difficulty, I stopped myself from

4:44

finishing the whole bottle. I

4:47

took it home so he could share the

4:49

taste and the memory. Taste

4:53

is a sense that's enormously popular, and throughout history,

4:55

people have gone to great lengths to pursue the

4:58

delicious. The demand for flavorful ingredients such as pepper,

5:02

cloves, and cinnamon altered the shape and

5:04

fortunes of empires. People love taste-related activities

5:08

such as cooking, exploring farmers

5:10

markets, trying new restaurants, sampling

5:12

wines, and

5:18

even talking, reading, and watching TV shows

5:20

about taste experiences. What we eat, with

5:23

whom we eat, how we

5:25

eat, and when we eat are essential

5:28

choices that tie us to our identity,

5:30

our memories, and our culture. While our

5:33

five senses can give us a quick lift

5:35

or a pleasant distraction, we also sometimes succumb to

5:38

temptations from the senses, and in particular, to taste,

5:43

in ways that aren't healthy. Few people

5:45

seem bothered by their love of rap or

5:49

abstract expressionism, but many people complain that they can't resist

5:51

a donut. For

5:55

my part, I'd never been adventured. and

6:00

exploring tastes. I enjoyed

6:02

many foods. I just wasn't

6:04

as interested in expanding my taste horizons

6:07

as most other people seemed to be. As

6:11

humans, we love pattern and predictability, and

6:14

we love novelty and surprise. But

6:17

people differ in how much predictability

6:19

or surprise they want. I

6:22

eat the same food, prepare the same

6:24

way, just about every day. New

6:27

York City is wasted on you, a friend

6:29

scolded me. You could try any kind

6:31

of food, but you just want to eat

6:33

plain grilled salmon. Yup. Because

6:37

love of food is often held up as

6:39

a marker of an enthusiasm for life, my

6:42

lack of passion has always made me feel

6:44

a bit inadequate. Cooking

6:46

icon Julia Child declared, people

6:48

who love to eat are always the best

6:51

people. Food essayist

6:53

Jean-Antoine Breat-Savarin wrote,

6:56

tell me what you eat, and I shall tell

6:58

you what you are. What

7:00

did that say about me? My

7:03

most important personal commandment is be

7:06

Gretchen. I wanted

7:08

to accept myself and also expect

7:11

more from myself. Dissensive

7:13

taste gives so much happiness to

7:15

so many people. I couldn't help

7:17

but feel that I was missing out, and

7:20

that I could learn to appreciate taste

7:22

more. Much of

7:24

our response to tastes, I learned, is

7:26

hardwired from birth, because taste

7:29

conveys the life-saving information of

7:31

whether a food is likely to be poisonous

7:34

or nutritious. But how

7:36

many basic taste categories can we

7:38

perceive? Four, five,

7:41

six, fourteen? I

7:43

was surprised to learn that the number was

7:45

still under debate, because tastes

7:48

such as fatty, soapy, metallic,

7:50

and starchy hadn't yet been

7:53

widely accepted. I

7:55

decided to explore the five tastes

7:57

considered standard in the West. sour,

8:01

bitter, salty, and umami.

8:04

Because sweet foods often provide energy

8:06

and nutrients, we're born craving

8:09

sweetness. We seek it constantly and

8:11

in the last 500 years

8:13

it has over mastered the world. We

8:17

also love salty. If we

8:19

don't eat enough salt, we die. It's

8:22

the only rock we eat. It's

8:25

a universal flavor enhancer

8:27

that lifts sweetness, deepens

8:29

umami, and masks bitterness, which is

8:32

why people salt their grapefruit or

8:34

coffee. We tend to

8:36

add more, more, more salt until

8:38

we reach the intolerable tipping point

8:41

of too salty. A

8:43

bitter taste often signals the presence

8:45

of poison, so we find

8:48

it distasteful until we learn

8:50

to embrace the taste of coffee or

8:52

escarole. A sour

8:54

taste signals the presence of

8:56

acid in items such as

8:58

limes, cranberries, yogurt, wine, and

9:01

vinegar. The mouth-puckering sting

9:03

of sour gives a zest to food

9:05

that tastes flat, though at some

9:07

point, and people differ as to

9:09

what point, people find a

9:11

taste too sour. Umami,

9:14

or savory, entered

9:16

the taste lineup surprisingly recently. In

9:18

1908, Kamas Kikunai Ikeda proposed

9:23

its existence to describe the

9:26

full-bodied meaty quality found in

9:28

items such as broth, cooked

9:31

meats, tomato products, walnuts, fish

9:33

sauce, soy sauce, aced parmesan

9:36

cheese, and red wine. Adding

9:39

the seasoning monosodium glutamate, or

9:42

MSG, boosts umami,

9:45

and contrary to rumor, doesn't

9:48

cause any negative health effects. We

9:51

often confuse bitter and sour, perhaps

9:53

because they often appear together. I

9:56

used an orange to remind myself of the difference,

9:59

biting into into a segment gave me a

10:01

sour taste, while chewing a piece

10:03

of rind gave me a bitter taste. The

10:07

right combinations can make food and drink

10:09

more delicious. The salt

10:11

and Parmesan cheese helps bring out the

10:14

flavors in a salad. The

10:16

umami of mushrooms improves a bland

10:18

sauce. The sugar in

10:20

tonic water cuts the beverage's bitterness. Surprisingly,

10:23

a can of Schweppes tonic water

10:25

contains almost as much sugar as a

10:28

can of Coca-Cola. But

10:30

because of quinine's bitterness, it

10:32

doesn't taste nearly as sweet. I

10:35

hadn't tried tonic in years, so I opened

10:37

a small bottle and took a thoughtful sip.

10:40

It was sweet and bitter by turns,

10:42

with a fizz of carbonation. When

10:45

it comes to taste, and the

10:47

senses generally, we may dislike

10:49

an item if it violates the sensory

10:52

patterns we expect. Who

10:54

wants watermelon Oreos? Cheetos,

10:57

lip balm, Frito-Lay

10:59

lemonade, touch of yogurt

11:02

shampoo, or frozen meals

11:04

from Colgate? But

11:06

as improbable as it seems, these

11:09

are all actual products. Weird

11:12

mashups do make for a good

11:14

prank, however. No one expects to

11:16

find ham-flavored candy canes in a

11:18

Christmas stocking. As

11:20

I'd learned in my investigation of the sense of

11:22

smell, simple taste is

11:24

quite different from more complex

11:27

flavor, which combines taste and

11:29

smell. We can taste

11:31

sweet, but for the

11:33

specific experience of chocolate, strawberry,

11:35

or caramel, we need our sense

11:37

of smell. In what's

11:39

called the olfactory location illusion,

11:42

or oral referral, we

11:44

experience the food's flavor as coming through

11:47

our mouth, even though our

11:49

nose furnishes much of that flavor. Genetic

11:52

factors mean that some people can

11:54

detect certain aspects of food, such

11:57

as bitterness, sweetness, and creaminess,

12:00

intensely than others. For

12:03

instance, during my fragrance class,

12:05

we tested ourselves by putting phenyl

12:07

thiol carbamide test strips on our

12:09

tongues. To me, the

12:12

paper tasted slightly bitter, which marked

12:14

me as a taster, while

12:16

a few super-taster classmates found the

12:19

strips intensely bitter. Age

12:22

is a factor in how we taste, too. As

12:25

we age, we may lose some of our

12:27

sense of taste, often because our sense of

12:29

smell isn't as acute. Children

12:32

love sweets, and this love

12:34

isn't just cultural. Children

12:36

are hardwired to prefer more intense

12:38

sweetness and saltiness than adults, and

12:41

they also seem more sensitive to

12:43

bitterness. And, for reasons

12:45

that aren't clear, children

12:48

love sourness. Candy

12:50

aisles are packed with

12:52

popular super-sour choices, warheads,

12:55

toxic waste sour candy,

12:57

tearjerkers, and research suggests

12:59

that from about age five to nine

13:01

years, kids really do prefer

13:04

sour tastes much more than

13:06

babies or adults do. It's

13:09

also true that our taste preferences can

13:11

change from moment to moment because we

13:13

enjoy a taste, even something

13:15

we love, less and less with

13:17

each bite. In

13:19

an unexpected experiment, I lived

13:22

through an example of sensory-specific

13:24

satiety and its counterpart,

13:26

the buffet effect, at dinner one

13:28

evening. Jamie likes to

13:31

cook, but when he's making dinner, he

13:33

doesn't worry much about having everything ready

13:35

at the same time. One

13:37

night, he, Eleanor, and I sat around

13:39

the table eating his meatballs, and after

13:41

three meatballs, I said, wow,

13:44

I can't eat another bite, at

13:47

which point he pulled out a tray of

13:49

roasted cauliflower, one of my favorite foods. As

13:52

I loaded up my plate, Eleanor said, I thought

13:55

you were full. I'm too

13:57

full for more meatballs, sensory.

14:00

specific satiety, I said, but

14:02

I've got room for cauliflower.

14:04

Buffet effect. For

14:06

this reason, some restaurants present a series

14:09

of small dishes to keep the sense

14:11

of reward high. We

14:13

can trick our taste buds. For

14:16

fun, I popped a miracle fruit tablet

14:18

into my mouth. Made from

14:20

the berries of a West African shrub,

14:22

the tablet contained a protein that, in

14:24

the presence of acid, tricked my tongue

14:27

to fire up the taste of sweetness.

14:29

When I sucked on a lemon slice,

14:32

it tasted like over sweetened lemonade, and

14:34

when I bit into an unripe strawberry,

14:37

it tasted like candy. I

14:39

also tried crunching Szechuan buttons, which made me

14:41

feel as if I'd stuck an electric buzzer

14:44

in my mouth. These buzz

14:46

buttons stimulated my trigeminal nerve,

14:49

the large nerve that also allows us to experience

14:51

the astringency of red wine, the

14:54

burn of chilies, and the cool

14:56

of mint. Our upbringing, our

14:58

culture, and our values help us decide

15:01

what to eat. Even

15:03

in the least restrictive cultures, people

15:05

don't eat all foods that are

15:07

nutritious and available. Some

15:10

foods are considered acceptable, and

15:12

others off-limits. Why will I

15:14

eat cow but not horse? Why

15:16

have I eaten a cow's muscle but not a cow's

15:18

liver? Which, not long ago,

15:20

was a popular dish in the United

15:22

States. I've never tried

15:25

crickets, even though they're

15:27

nutritious, environmentally friendly, and I've

15:29

heard tasty. In

15:31

general, if we haven't had a positive

15:33

eating experience with a food by age

15:35

25, we probably won't embrace

15:37

it. While our

15:39

sense of taste dominates our experience of

15:41

eating, the other four

15:44

senses also make significant contributions.

15:47

First, appearance matters.

15:50

Back in the first century, the

15:52

Roman gourmet Epischus noted, the first

15:55

taste is always with the eyes.

15:58

The Fiery orange of Cheetos, Tell

16:00

their brains to expect a big hit

16:02

of flavor and steamed vegetables look more

16:04

appetizing when they keep their bright colors.

16:07

In the United States we associate

16:09

the color blue with salty. Read.

16:12

The sweet and green with

16:14

sour. People rape popcorn assault year

16:17

when they eat from the blue ball and

16:19

is sweeter when they eat from a red

16:21

bull. Sounds. Also

16:23

influence how something tastes. Would

16:26

an opera caught have the same flavor if

16:28

we didn't hear that sauce quilting sound during

16:30

a bite? In. One study

16:33

people rated. Potato chips is fresher

16:35

tasting when they heard a loud or

16:37

crunch. In another study,

16:39

people were asked to rate two

16:41

identical. Loans One poured from a

16:44

corporate bottle and one poured from a

16:46

screw kept bottle. When. Participants

16:48

heard the pop of a court being

16:50

pulled. They gave the wine a higher

16:53

rating and they also raided it as

16:55

more likely to spark a celebratory. Mood.

16:58

And it's the sap crock one pop that make

17:00

rice. Krispies serial fun to eat. Smell.

17:04

Of course. Is essential to a

17:06

foods flavor. For. That reason, prepared

17:08

foods often don't taste as good

17:10

as the foods we cook because

17:12

we don't get the smells of

17:15

roasting, caramelize and grilling or baking

17:17

that would otherwise walk through the

17:19

air to build our anticipation and

17:21

boost the flavor of the meal.

17:24

When. We're deciding whether something tastes

17:26

good. Were also very influenced by

17:28

it's mouthfeel. Soggy. Christie.

17:31

Creamy, silky, lamy,

17:34

grizzly, gooey, grainy,

17:37

Oily, And G

17:39

E C thinly fancy,

17:42

stringy, I love the

17:44

word mouth. So. Clunky.

17:46

So apt. Different.

17:49

Cultures appreciate different textures.

17:51

For. instance east asian and

17:53

southeast asian cuisines embrace a

17:56

far wider range of textures

17:58

including slippery spring rubbery,

18:00

chewy than those in Western

18:02

cooking. I

18:04

experienced food spy sensation delight one Sunday

18:07

morning when I walked into the kitchen

18:09

to discover that Jamie was busy at

18:11

the kitchen counter. I

18:13

sized up the ingredients heaped on

18:16

the counter. A frittata, I guess?

18:19

Wonderful! I loved

18:21

everything about Jamie's frittatas. The

18:23

sharp pop and drifting scent of onions

18:25

and red peppers as he sauteed them.

18:28

The springy texture that melted in my

18:30

mouth. The deep yellow and brown

18:32

colors glistening in a round baking dish.

18:35

As he heated a skillet, I couldn't

18:37

resist flicking some water onto its hot

18:40

surface to hear the sizzle. A

18:42

sound I'd only recently noticed that

18:44

I loved. Later,

18:46

as we all dug in, I said to

18:49

Jamie, you make the best

18:51

frittata anywhere. Sharing

18:53

food is an ancient, universal, and

18:56

revered human custom and is one

18:58

of the most important expressions of

19:01

community. Eating together

19:03

is a way to strengthen relationships

19:05

and offering food as an essential

19:07

ingredient of hospitality. In

19:09

fact, we often eat foods we don't enjoy or

19:12

eat more or less than we'd like out

19:15

of respect or affection. For

19:17

many people, sharing food means

19:19

love. Shared

19:21

tastes are a crucial part of shared

19:23

identity within a culture and

19:25

also within a family. I

19:28

like certain foods like tuna fish

19:30

salad, chili, and stuffing only

19:32

when they're prepared the way my family makes

19:34

them. Other people add things

19:37

like raisins or walnuts where they don't

19:39

belong and I don't understand that

19:41

deviled eggs aren't improved by onions and

19:44

that meatballs should never contain chunks

19:46

of mushrooms. When we're sad or

19:48

worried, we often turn to comfort

19:50

foods. Foods that in

19:52

our personal gastronomy suggest peace

19:55

and security. Eating

19:57

foods satisfies our five senses and so

19:59

do is preparing food. Every

20:02

Christmas of my life, I've made gingerbread

20:04

cookies with my family. Buying

20:07

gingerbread cookies wouldn't be the same. As

20:10

acclaimed chef Carla Hall pointed out during

20:12

an interview on the Happier podcast, it's

20:15

one thing to break bread together, it's

20:17

another thing to make bread together.

20:20

I may not be a connoisseur of taste, but

20:22

few things boost my happiness more than

20:24

enjoying a meal with people I love.

20:30

How to make a business When

20:34

you're hiring for your small business, you

20:36

want to find quality professionals that are

20:39

right for the role. That's why you

20:41

have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn

20:43

Jobs has the tools to help find

20:45

the right professionals for your team faster

20:48

and free. And you know, Alyssa, I

20:50

now work with a team and hiring

20:52

the right people is so important. It's

20:54

maybe the most important thing. And LinkedIn

20:56

makes the process of identifying and hiring

20:59

people easy and intuitive. I know that

21:01

when I've been hiring for my team,

21:03

it's hard to find quality candidates

21:05

to interview. And LinkedIn

21:07

isn't just a job board. LinkedIn helps

21:09

you hire professionals you can't find anywhere

21:12

else, even those who aren't actively

21:14

searching for a new job, but might be

21:16

open to the perfect role. In a given

21:18

month, over 70% of LinkedIn users don't visit

21:20

other leading job sites. So if you're not

21:22

looking on LinkedIn, you're looking in the wrong

21:25

place. On LinkedIn, 86% of small businesses get

21:27

a qualified candidate

21:29

within 24 hours. Hire

21:31

professionals like a professional on

21:33

LinkedIn. Post your

21:35

job for free at

21:38

linkedin.com/Gretchen. That's linkedin.com/Gretchen to

21:40

post your job for

21:42

free. Terms and conditions

21:45

apply. Hi, I'm

21:49

Lala Arikokli, host of Women Who

21:51

Travel. Each story from

21:54

our guests and listeners is totally unique

21:56

and utterly personal. We

21:58

love hearing about your first impression. impressions when

22:01

visiting someplace new. My

22:03

first trip to the Patagonia

22:05

region was on the Argentine side.

22:08

I couldn't believe the

22:10

expansive territory. It's like

22:13

being in Tibet. The emptiness

22:15

and the harshness really, I found

22:18

transformative. Or the

22:20

story told when safety back when dry land.

22:23

You know, things happened every single day. I ran out of

22:25

gas on a jet ski in the middle of the ocean.

22:28

And I was like, what if a sea

22:30

creature comes to eat me? But then I'm delusional.

22:32

I was like, I'll make friends with it

22:34

and it won't eat me. And maybe I'll ride

22:37

that back to shore. That's how it works. Join

22:40

me, Valle Arocopli, every week for more

22:42

adventures on Women Who Travel, wherever you

22:45

listen to your podcast. Writing

22:49

a Taste's timeline. When

22:52

writer Marcel Proust ate a tea

22:55

soaked Madeline cookie, he was famously flooded

22:57

with memories of the past. And

23:00

today the Proust effect refers to

23:02

an intense emotional memory sparked by

23:04

the senses. However, while

23:07

Proust's Madeline moment is often associated

23:09

with the power of scent, Proust

23:11

actually writes more about the taste

23:13

of that famous Madeline. As

23:16

I reflected on my own taste

23:18

memories, I immediately thought of Winstead's,

23:21

a diner in Kansas City. I'm

23:23

sure that I've sat in every booth, touched

23:26

every plastic menu and pulled

23:28

napkins from every dispenser. When

23:31

I was growing up, it was a treat to

23:33

go whenever my mother didn't feel like cooking or

23:36

when a day was particularly busy. I

23:39

always order the same thing. So over

23:41

the years, I've graduated from a

23:43

single Winstead burger to a double

23:45

Winstead to a triple Winstead without

23:47

the bun. Winstead's

23:50

diner is an important symbol of

23:52

our family identity and history. We're

23:55

a family that loves Winstead's.

23:58

Every time Elizabeth or I return to

24:00

Kansas City, we eat at Winstead's on our

24:03

very first day back. We always

24:05

take a photo in front of its

24:07

green neon sign, and we've taught our

24:09

own families to love Winstead's. How

24:11

many times have I heard my father say,

24:14

I'd like a double Winstead please

24:16

with everything, no cheese. Every

24:19

time we dig into those flat,

24:21

lacy, spicy burgers, I feel the

24:24

connection strengthen. On my

24:26

last visit, I swiped a menu at

24:28

the souvenir. Inspired

24:30

by Proust and by Winstead's,

24:33

I decided to gather my remembrances

24:35

of taste's path in a timeline.

24:39

To conjure memories, I tried to

24:41

recall the tastes that were most

24:43

typical, the food and drink

24:45

that I most often tasted during that period,

24:48

or most distinctive, the

24:50

food and drink that I enjoyed at that time,

24:53

and no other time. Childhood.

24:57

Winstead's burgers, fries, onion

24:59

rings, and chocolate frosties. Our

25:02

family ordered and continues to order

25:04

some combination of these items at

25:06

every visit. Pop-tarts.

25:09

My sister and I loved strawberry

25:11

pop-tarts, but we were allowed to

25:13

eat them only when we were visiting our grandparents.

25:17

My mother's meatloaf. This

25:19

meatloaf is still one of my very

25:21

favorite foods. The secret ingredient

25:23

is no secret

25:26

ingredient. My

25:28

father's Swedish pancakes. Every

25:30

time he makes them, he announces, these

25:32

taste just like the ones my neighbor, Mrs.

25:34

Barjell, used to make when I was a

25:37

boy. It makes me happy

25:39

that the tastes of my childhood tie me

25:41

back to my father's childhood. Golden

25:44

Graham cereal. This super

25:46

sweet cereal was my school day breakfast

25:49

for years. College

25:51

and law school. White

25:54

Russians. My roommates and I made

25:56

these heavy, sweet drinks during freshman

25:58

year. Rice

26:00

Pudding from Naples Pizza. I

26:02

lived across the street from this favorite

26:05

college hangout which was famous for its

26:07

rice pudding. Sangria

26:09

and tortilla chips from Viva

26:11

Zapata Restaurant. Like all

26:13

college students, we were always on the

26:15

hunt for free food and as long

26:18

as we kept ordering pictures of sugary,

26:20

cheap sangria, we could ask for

26:22

more chips. Greek

26:24

Salad from York Side Pizza. This

26:26

salad features giant chunks of feta

26:28

and extra black olives. I still

26:30

order one whenever I'm in New

26:32

Haven. Diet

26:34

Peach Snapple, of course. My

26:38

daughter's childhoods. Baby

26:40

food. Every once in a while,

26:42

I snuck a taste. Pepperidge

26:45

Farm Goldfish. My

26:47

daughters loved these cheery, orange,

26:49

fish-shaped crackers. Cheerios.

26:52

This O-shaped cereal was another favorite

26:55

snack. Healthy

26:57

Apple Muffins. I

26:59

couldn't resist ordering these moist, dense

27:01

muffins when I worked on my laptop

27:03

in a coffee shop across

27:05

from my daughter's preschool. Shredded

27:08

Wheat Cereal with Salsa. The

27:11

only dish I ever invented. I

27:14

was looking for a vehicle for salsa

27:16

that was healthier than tortilla chips and

27:18

I had the inspiration to use shredded

27:21

wheat cereal. While I

27:23

admit it doesn't look appealing, it's

27:25

delicious. Today. Chaffle.

27:31

Cheese and Egg Waffle. Every

27:33

morning, I heat my electric waffle maker, mix two eggs with shredded

27:35

cheddar cheese, pour

27:37

the mixture onto the patterned surface, close the

27:40

lid, and after a few minutes, pull

27:42

out my browned, crispy chaffle. Almonds.

27:47

I eat a lot

27:49

of almonds. Raw and roasted,

27:52

salted and unsalted. Cauliflower

27:55

and broccoli. I never tire of cauliflower and

27:57

broccoli. I

28:00

lean slightly in favor of cauliflower. Cobb

28:03

salad. I usually don't eat

28:05

mixed foods, but I do like Cobb

28:07

salad. Frozen raspberries.

28:10

I love raspberries, and they're easier

28:12

to keep stocked when they're frozen.

28:16

Asking myself the specific question, what

28:18

taste do I remember from a

28:20

particular time helped me to dredge

28:23

up memories of scenes that I

28:25

hadn't thought about for years. I

28:27

didn't even need to track down

28:29

these items to eat them. Just

28:31

recalling their tastes was enough. I

28:34

called Elizabeth to reminisce. Remember

28:37

all the wheat bins we ate in the

28:39

car whenever we took that day-long drive

28:41

to North Platte? Yes. Also

28:44

Cheez-its, she reminded me. We always

28:46

brought a box. What

28:48

else do you remember? Mom's pork

28:51

chops. We ate those once a

28:53

week, and I loved them, and I've never

28:55

eaten a pork chop since. Oh,

28:57

I remember those. And remember

29:00

when they visited how Grandma and Grandpa

29:02

would bring a coffee cake? Yes,

29:05

in the yellow tin. I hadn't

29:07

thought about that old cake tin in

29:09

decades, but it was right there

29:11

in my memory. Then I

29:14

started to laugh. You know what else

29:16

I remember? What asked

29:18

Elizabeth? How much you loved

29:20

butter. I still love butter.

29:23

You had that way of buttering saltines, then

29:25

putting them in the toaster oven to melt

29:27

the butter. And then that one

29:29

time, the toaster caught on fire. We

29:32

screamed for Dad, and he came and

29:34

just blew out the fire, like

29:36

the big bad wolf. Well,

29:38

Elizabeth admitted, that may have

29:40

happened more than once. The

29:43

nostalgia of recalling these tastes made

29:45

me feel closer to my own

29:47

past and also closer to

29:49

my sister, because these were

29:51

memories that no one else shared. And

29:54

In fact, research suggests that feelings

29:57

of nostalgia can help people feel

29:59

happier. There. And. Less lonely. Remembering.

30:03

The case of my childhood made

30:05

me curious to hear about my

30:07

daughter's taste memories. Think

30:10

back to when you were much younger, I

30:12

said to Eleanor of lunch. Of Jamie's

30:14

laid a specialty and onion tart.

30:17

What? Tastes stand out. For.

30:20

My birthday parties we'd buy those big

30:23

boxes of fruit loops and read literature

30:25

was to make fruit loop necklaces she

30:27

said. All my friends loved that

30:29

song was cell. Phone and said what

30:32

off. For. A long time I

30:34

had sunk you peanut butter on whole wheat

30:36

bread for breakfast. Also. I

30:38

ate a lot of raisins. Raisins.

30:42

Do. You remember how we had the jars

30:44

of golden raisins? I'd eat them out

30:46

of my special top. I

30:48

forgot about the raisins. Everything

30:51

that sticky from the raisins. Next

30:54

I called Eliza to ask about

30:56

her memories and associations. When.

30:58

You went to college. What tastes did

31:00

you miss most from home? Parmesan.

31:04

She said at home. I can eat it

31:06

at any time, in any form. True.

31:09

Thanks. To Eliza, we keep many forms

31:11

of Parmesan in the fridge at all

31:13

times. And she added i remember

31:15

how you use to make me warm

31:17

milk when I had trouble falling asleep.

31:20

When. I was little. Old six years

31:22

old or had so much trouble sleeping.

31:25

I had completely forgotten about that

31:27

period when allies the couldn't sleep.

31:30

But. Then the memory of heating up her

31:32

milk in the microwave than adding vanilla

31:34

and cinnamon came back to me. And.

31:36

With it the feeling of being the

31:39

mother of young children. With. It's

31:41

many sleepless nights. In

31:43

what's called the Reminiscence Bump. Adults

31:46

tend to remember most vividly.

31:48

Their experiences. And between the

31:51

ages of fifteen and twenty five.

31:54

By. Attending more closely to my

31:56

five senses, I found that I

31:58

was recalling more memories. More

32:00

times in my life. These. Memories

32:02

had been preserved, But. I'd

32:04

never thought about them. Now that

32:07

I was paying attention. They'd begun

32:09

to surface. Revisiting.

32:11

Old taste made me happy. But.

32:13

Also wistful, So. Much

32:16

in my life had changed. Or

32:18

vanished altogether. As

32:20

Proust observes during his reflection about

32:22

the taste of tea and cake.

32:26

When. From a long distant

32:28

past, nothing subsists. After.

32:30

The people are dead after

32:32

the things are broken and

32:34

scattered. The. Smell and taste

32:37

of things remain poised a long

32:39

time. Lotta. Soul. Ready.

32:42

To remind us. Waiting.

32:44

And hoping for their moment. amid.

32:46

The ruins of all the rest. And

32:48

bear on faltering in a tiny

32:51

and almost impalpable drop of their

32:53

essence. The. Vast structure

32:55

of recollection. Every

32:59

time I returned to Kansas City,

33:01

I visit Winstead. And I

33:03

wonder how can it have saved

33:05

so little incentive to seems to

33:07

me. Yet even if

33:10

when said close it's. I

33:12

can remember. Those days. Every

33:14

time they smell. The.

33:22

Weather's getting warmer so it's time to say

33:25

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Admiring ketchup and vanilla

36:33

as Demonstrated

36:35

by the fact that my favorite restaurant was

36:37

a diner I didn't

36:39

have a very adventurous palate, but

36:41

I realized that there was another way to

36:44

find more joy in taste I

36:46

could cultivate more appreciation for the

36:49

familiar tastes of my own kitchen

36:52

Just as I'd done with my sense of sight. I

36:55

could look for what I'd overlooked I

36:58

decided to explore two familiar

37:00

yet Magnificent flavors both

37:02

so common and so cheap that

37:04

they're discounted and even disparaged Despite

37:07

being wildly popular these

37:10

two flavors ketchup and

37:12

vanilla First tomato

37:15

ketchup people love the tomato which

37:17

is one of the most widely

37:19

consumed foods in the world Wherever

37:22

it has been introduced people have added

37:24

it to their cuisine in The

37:26

United States the tomato is second only

37:29

to the potato as a popular vegetable

37:32

Despite the old trick question the tomato

37:34

can qualify as both a fruit and

37:37

a vegetable and the US Department of

37:39

Agriculture Categorizes it

37:41

as a vegetable Scarlet

37:44

viscous and delicious ketchup

37:46

is one of the most popular ways to

37:48

consume tomatoes Ketchup

37:51

started in China hundreds of years

37:53

ago as a fermented fish sauce

37:55

called kochiap Which eventually made its

37:58

way around the globe to the United States? States,

38:01

where tomatoes became an essential part

38:03

of the recipe. Nowadays,

38:05

about 650 million bottles are

38:08

sold each year, and about

38:10

97% of Americans have a bottle

38:13

in the refrigerator. We

38:16

don't give ketchup much thought, and

38:18

many people even dismiss it as

38:20

the condiment that undiscriminating eaters use

38:23

to overpower the flavor of anything

38:25

it touches. The flavor

38:27

of ketchup, however, is exceptionally

38:30

complex. Heinz

38:32

ketchup is the rare food that

38:34

has the magical ability to hit

38:36

each of the five basic tastes.

38:39

Sweet, sour, bitter, salty,

38:42

and umami. That

38:44

span may explain why ketchup is

38:47

well-loved both as itself and

38:49

also as the secret ingredient in

38:51

many popular foods, such

38:53

as chili, meatloaf, and stir-fries,

38:56

and in many sauces and dressings, such

38:58

as bolognese sauce, barbecue sauce,

39:01

sweet and sour sauce, Russian

39:03

dressing, and Thousand Island dressing.

39:07

Still, ketchup retains its

39:09

stigma. At a business

39:11

lunch, a colleague mentioned that she was going

39:13

to a Thai restaurant for dinner, and I

39:15

told her, guess what I

39:17

just learned? A main ingredient in

39:19

American pad thai is ketchup. Pad

39:22

thai is basically noodles with ketchup.

39:25

She wasn't happy to hear it. I

39:28

thought I knew the taste of ketchup well, but

39:31

after learning more about it, I decided

39:33

to give it more attention. I

39:35

pulled the bottle of Heinz ketchup from

39:37

the refrigerator door, squirted a

39:39

dollop onto a spoon, and put

39:41

a little on my tongue. The ketchup

39:44

did indeed hit all five tastes,

39:46

and its aftertaste was just as good

39:49

as the immediate explosion of flavor. Plus,

39:52

I admired ketchup's rich, shiny red

39:54

color and its thick flowing texture.

39:58

I tried to think of other five tastes wonders.

40:01

My best answer was the margarita cocktail

40:03

with its combination of the salt on

40:05

the rim of the glass, the

40:07

sweetness of the agave syrup or

40:09

orange liqueur, the sourness of the

40:11

limes, and the bitterness of the

40:13

tequila. No umami though. Online

40:16

I asked people for suggestions of

40:18

more four or five taste foods

40:21

and they suggested many. Apple

40:24

pie with cheddar cheese, sweet

40:26

and sour pork, th,

40:28

depending on what you put in it. Crackers

40:31

with honey and a sharp cheese, pie

40:35

red curry, Worcestershire

40:37

sauce, tamarind fruit,

40:40

kichari. I

40:42

realized that we had one of those items in our

40:44

cabinet. I poured a few drops

40:46

of brown Worcestershire sauce into a spoon and

40:48

gave a taste. Sure enough I

40:51

could pick up sour, sweet, salty

40:54

and umami though I wasn't sure

40:56

about bitter. Discovering the

40:58

magic of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce made

41:00

me more eager to turn to my

41:02

next taste subject. Vanilla

41:05

or more precisely vanilla extract is something

41:07

we keep in our kitchen at all

41:10

times and I use it just about

41:12

every day. I've

41:14

always loved vanilla. Ironically

41:16

although the term vanilla is sometimes

41:19

used to describe something bland and

41:21

boring, vanilla is one of

41:23

the most powerful flavors in the world. We

41:26

tend to think of it as the flavor in

41:29

desserts like crème brûlée, tapioca pudding,

41:31

vanilla ice cream or vanilla

41:33

wafers but it's also often

41:36

a component of flavors like chocolate,

41:38

caramel and coconut because it balances

41:40

sweetness, masks bitterness,

41:43

adds creaminess and makes everything

41:45

taste better. In

41:47

the West our association of sweetness

41:50

with vanilla is so strong that

41:52

we can make something taste sweeter just

41:54

by adding vanilla even though

41:57

vanilla itself is not in fact sweet.

42:00

In East Asia, where vanilla is

42:02

associated with savory foods, eaters

42:05

don't experience this sweetening effect.

42:08

Learning about vanilla made me realize that,

42:11

although I love vanilla flavored anything, I

42:13

couldn't remember ever tasting vanilla itself.

42:17

I headed to the kitchen, pulled out

42:19

our bottle, and cautiously dabbed a drop

42:21

onto my tongue. The scent

42:23

drifting from the bottle was delightful. The

42:26

drop on my tongue tasted of alcohol.

42:29

Alcohol carries the vanilla flavor, with

42:31

a bitter kick that left a burn. And

42:34

it turns out, there was a reason that

42:37

I didn't taste much. Vanilla

42:39

has no taste at all. When

42:41

we add a teaspoon of vanilla to a

42:44

recipe, we're adding a pleasant smell, not

42:46

a taste. Surprisingly,

42:48

I learned, we can enjoy a

42:51

lot of vanilla. Most

42:53

flavors taste good at a certain level,

42:55

but taste bad when more is added.

42:58

Vanilla keeps tasting good even at

43:00

high levels. To

43:02

test this feature of vanilla myself, the

43:04

next time I spooned Greek yogurt into a

43:07

bowl, instead of adding the

43:09

usual three thin brown drops of

43:11

vanilla, I poured in an overflowing

43:13

tablespoon. I gingerly gave the

43:15

yogurt a taste. Still

43:17

good? However, if I

43:20

added a cup, I suspect that

43:22

would be too much vanilla. Starting

43:24

in the 1990s, vanilla

43:26

even became a dominant ingredient

43:29

in many perfumes, such as

43:31

the blockbuster perfume Angel. One

43:34

of my favorite perfumes is Tom

43:36

Ford's Tobacco Vennie. In

43:38

my fragrance class, I'd love the smell

43:40

of vanillin. Think vanilla

43:42

milkshake. While few scents

43:45

and flavors are loved everywhere, admiration

43:47

for vanilla seems to be fairly

43:50

universal. Maybe because breast

43:52

milk has a suggestion of vanilla.

43:55

When I stopped to notice, the flavors

43:57

of ketchup and vanilla became far more

44:00

more intense and enjoyable. I

44:03

found my taste adventures without leaving

44:05

my own kitchen. Thanks

44:09

for listening to this excerpt from my book,

44:11

Life in Five Senses, how exploring the senses

44:13

got me out of my head and into

44:16

the world. I hope you enjoyed it.

44:19

To learn more or

44:21

order your copy, head

44:24

to gretchenrubin.com/book. Audio

44:26

observed courtesy of Penguin Random

44:29

House audio from Life in

44:31

Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin,

44:33

read by the author. Copyright

44:36

2023 by Gretchen Rubin. Copyright

44:39

2023, Penguin Random House, LLC.

44:54

If you've ever been in the market for

44:56

a new home, you know home shopping can

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be a lot. There's so much you

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