Is It Possible to Have a “Starch” Tooth?

The human tongue can detect five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (also called savory). Each of these tastes helped our ancestors survive by alerting them to poisonous foods and making safe, more nutritious foods tasty. Now researchers think there may be a sixth basic taste: starchy.

A taste for starchy foods like bread, pasta, and rice makes sense, according to Juyun Lim and...