# On the physiology of taste: "Spicy" trumps "bitter"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-physiology-of-taste-spicy-trumps-bitter/381577>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 23, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-physiology-of-taste-spicy-trumps-bitter/381577 "2006-11-23T20:16:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-physiology-of-taste-spicy-trumps-bitter/381577/1 "2006-11-23T20:16:16Z")

</div>

A while back, I went to my favorite bar and ordered a negroni (a cocktail that tastes really bitter) and a plate of gumbo. The gumbo was moderately spicy, but nowhere near mouth-burning. Still, I found that after eating a bite or two of the gumbo, the bitter taste of the negroni disappeared, leaving only the herbal flavor of the drink.

What’s up with that?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![WonJohnSoup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f17d59/32.png) [@WonJohnSoup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WonJohnSoup)\
**Post date:** [November 24, 2006, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-the-physiology-of-taste-spicy-trumps-bitter/381577/2 "2006-11-24T08:15:20Z")

</div>

Spicy isn’t really a taste. The flavors are sweet, sour, salty, bitter and “umami” (the one MSG activates).

“Spicy” is just the sensation of damage being caused to your tongue. You can actually damage the skin on the other parts of your body if the chili is “hot” enough. think pepper spray.

Not sure if that really answers your question, though.