Jalapenos, Chilies, Hot Sauce. Aren't my favorite things in the world and frankly I can't stand the burning of my mouth after I eat them and beg for milk to soothe the burning of my lips. But I went out of my comfort zone and tried a jalapeño with my nachos tonight while watching a football game. I made sure to have a glass of milk just incase I couldn't handle it. I also kind of loaded up my chip with lots of cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa. I took the bite and didn't find it bad at all, so I'm thinking that my taste buds might have matured or I just loaded it up enough to not taste it as much. But either way that got me thinking about the genetics of taste buds, because my mom and sister love spicy foods, but my dad isn't as much of a fan.
There are different types of tasters that determine how you taste, there are "supertasters," "regular tasters," and "non-tasters." These are determined on genetics, what type of tasters your family and your age. When you are younger you have more taste buds and this can explain sensitivity to spice. (http://www.nutritionatc.hawaii.edu/HO/1998/19.htm). Phenylthiocarbamide is a chemical substance that is in your taste buds, that is transferred through genetics. PTC establishes what type of foods create sensitivity to you are don't.
If you ever wonder why your one parent likes spicy or a certain food, but the other isn't the biggest fan of that food is because of genetics. Even if both your parents like a certain type of food but you don't it could be because of the maturity of your taste buds, and you may come to like that same food when you get older.
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