Sweetness Lab

Today, we did a lab that determined the sweetness of certain carbohydrates. Before we started, we researched eight carbohydrates: sucrose, glucose (dextrose), fructose, galactose, maltose, lactose, starch, and cellulose. We drew out each the the structures and determined if it was monosaccharide, disaccharide, or polysaccharide. Then, we wrote down the functions of each carbohydrate. Afterward, we made a hypothesis and categorized each carb as sweet or not sweet. Following that, we carefully labeled our lab matting with the carbohydrates and put a small amount of each carb under the correlating labels. Finally, we tasted just a bit of each on the tip of our fingers and rated each of them on a 0-200 sweetness scale. I, personally, ended up determining that the monosaccharide and disaccharide were around the same sweetness (~70-110), even around the same granular texture.  However, all of the polysaccharides were not sweet at all (rated 0) and has a powdery consistency. I have actually had Chinese maltose candy before and it tastes just like it did in the lab. Also, I have realized why honey, fruits, and some vegetables are naturally sweet now. Some of the reasons why we humans taste sweetness is because of the different chemicals and reactors on our tastebuds. A chemical messenger called cholecystokinin transfers information to the brain to let it decide whether something tastes sweet or bitter. Sometimes, we taste with out eyes. Our eyes can be deceptive and make certain foods taste sweeter or more bitter than it actually is.

Sweetness Lab Source: 
Binns, By Corey. "What Makes Food Taste Sweet?" LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 09 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Aug. 2015.