Having started to think about the place of water in human physical existence, the subject has grown. For example, a previous post—the second on the subject—was meant to be just a brief note, but it grew until it had numerous hyperlinks to other sources of information. This time I again hope to be brief. (Was I? See below.)
This time, I want to ask what appears to be a simple question, which I shall phrase in two ways:
- Why is water tasteless?
- Why does water have no apparent flavour?
Is flavour in the mouth or mind of the beholder? Yes, there are taste buds that respond to certain chemical constituents of food. Why no apparent response to water?
The chemicals to which the taste buds respond must be dissolved in water in order to reach the nerve endings the taste buds house. A dry is largely unable to taste anything.
Water does have a ‘mouthfeel’ that differs according to its temperature and a number of other factors.
Do we enjoy drinking water? We seem to enjoy it more when we are thirsty, i.e., when we need it more. When it is hot, we enjoy drinking cold water rather than hot water. Some people do enjoy drinking tepid or even hot water. That is not my preference. This begs the question, are there really preferences when it comes to drinking water? Sparkling (fizzy/carbonated) water—which does not occur naturally—has a distinctive mouthfeel, which many find particularly pleasant.
Why isn’t there a flavour that inclines us to drink more water? I was very much taken by a sentence in Helena Cronin’s book The Ant and the Peacock. She comments that ‘oranges taste sweet, not nutritious.’ From our desire for oranges based on their flavour, we indirectly obtain the nutrition they happen to contain—and indirectly water bearing the flavour.
Given that water is fundamental to life, obtaining it does not seem to be based on a desire for its enjoyment. Instead, a different mechanism is in play. We experience a need for it, a need that we call thirst. This need—or craving—must be satisfied. This need goes deeper than the pleasure to be had from experiencing flavour. It is better described as a dependency.
