Skittles is trending not only on grocery shelves but also on all social media channels and the fuss centers around a general belief that the taste and flavors of Skittles are not different, no matter the color. People just didn’t jump on skittle’s topic suddenly without a reason, which began on a controversial article published by one famous journalist. The journalist claimed to have carried out a simple survey of her colleagues in the office. The participants had their eyes covered, and they were asked to taste skittle, then try to differentiate the variety of tastes in Haribo gummy bears. The outcome only showed that all the participants lost their tasting strengths and they couldn’t efficiently point out the correct flavor that belongs to each candy bar.
Featured in the publication was a neuroscience specialist and a professor in psychological topics working at the University of Brandeis, Don Katz, who said that skittle candies are laced with distinctive colors and scents, although they possess the same taste.
The publication failed to clearly state if it’s a fact to agree that all skittles have the same scent.
Don was once again consulted in order to get more enlightenment. He insisted on his statement and opinions posted in that article because he’d personally carried out his own investigation on this subject and a similar result was obtained. Don Katz nonetheless was able to recognize differences in the five senses, which are the cue from the taste bud (tongue), the cue from the smell organ (nose), cues emanating from all the other sensory organs which are ears, eyes, tongue, and nose work together to identify the flavor.
Katz described his experiment which was similar to the one conducted by the article writer. Katz’s participants were blindfolded and nose clipped at the same time, then they were given varieties of Skittles’ colors, but when they were told the color of the candy they ate, Katz was actually giving them a different color entirely. He said the participants got the right taste for the right colors correctly for 50% of the duration the experiment lasted. Through this method, he was able to know that Skittles have the same tastes. Katz agreed, however, that the candies have different aromas, as long as tastes and scents work together.
The signals we get from the brain can be misleading sometimes because it makes us believe that all the cues of smell, flavor, sound and feel all emanate from the taste bud.
On the other hand, this assertion has been countered by Skittle makers themselves, Mars Wrigley Confectionery. The company’s representative argued that all five fragrances made from fruit extracts have their own unique taste and aroma. The representative added that the five flavors are grape, orange, lemon, strawberry, and apple with green color. Each fruity extracts are being sprinkled on the soft part of Skittle and its outer layer to give the desired flavors.
Last year, Mars Wrigley Confectionary just recently introduced fresh flavors which were not previously on their list. They released what they called ‘Catchy Play’ type of flavored Skittle, something like giving each candy a different color with the same flavor and confusing their consumers on which candy type they are chewing. Five additional fresh flavors also await the Valentine’s Day for 2018.
It was somewhat difficult for Katz to accept Skittles makers’ defence that they make the candies to possess distinct flavours, but he still commented that there is, of course, a slight possibility that the makers usually include various factors of tastes that have their own intricacies, but the distinctiveness will be so artful that consumers of skittles may not identify the differences, especially when the delicious taste of the candy has gotten deep into their system, so much that even their active sensory organs of smell and seeing would become inactive at that period. So detecting the differences may be hard, says Katz.
Bottom line? Mars Wrigley Confectionary makes Skittles delicious with unique tastes and flavors. Therefore, it is left for you to discern the differences in them all, even without being blindfolded. Your sensory organs are there to aid your detection. As for the journalist, Skittle makers have done their best in clarifying the debate.
