• Question: How many times do you need to chew white bread before it tastes like sugar?- Katy and Courtney

    Asked by Katy and Courtney to Andrew, Dilip, Emma, John, Ruth on 8 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Andrew Quigley

      Andrew Quigley answered on 8 Nov 2015:

      I didn’t know that white bread begins to taste like sugar when you chew it, so I’m afraid I can’t answer that question! Have you any ideas how it might happen?

      Maybe the other scientists can shed some light on it?

    • Photo: John Gleeson

      John Gleeson answered on 8 Nov 2015:

      Oh that depends on the actual white bread itself. Depending on the recipe it’ll have more or less sugar, and the chewing is breaking down the “matrix” which is holding the sugar. And at the same time you’ll have amylase starting to work on breaking down the sugar. It’s really cool, all that chewing is the start of both physical and chemical digestion! (And if you don’t brush your teeth sufficiently the bacteria will start working on some sugar digestion too!) 🙂

      I’ve some friends who work on chewing and the effect on fullness which is super fascinating!

    • Photo: Dilip Rai

      Dilip Rai answered on 13 Nov 2015:

      You have a point, as bread is a carbohydrate rich food. And carbohydrates are a polymer of sugars….but how many times one need to chew to get the sugary taste is one’s endurance!

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