Sweetness Lab

We did a Sweetness Lab in class so that we could determine how the structure of a carbohydrate affects its taste. Based on the evidence collected in this experiment, I think that the less complex a sugar is, the sweeter it gets. This means that monosaccharides are the sweetest type of sugar and the polysaccharides are less sweet. This is proven by the results of our experiment. Glucose and Fructose, which are monosaccharides scored the highest on the sweetness scale. Polysaccharides such as Cellulose and Starch, scored lowest on sweetness scale. This proves that the less complex a sugar is, the sweeter it is.

There are three classes of carbohydrates: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides. The monosaccharides are used for short term energy because they are easier to break down into energy. Disaccharides are harder to break down but still relatively fast. Polysaccharides are used for longer term energy and they take longer to break down. As a result, it can be used for energy longer than monosaccharides and disaccharides.
Not all the testers got the same result as me. This is probably because we all are different and perceive taste differently. Rating them by a number system is difficult because the numbers are opinions. The scale we used for this experiment was 0 - 200 with sucrose being 100. One tester 180 could be another testers 140. Taste is a qualitative observation that we try to convert to a quantitative observation, so it is difficult to get accurate results.
According to the Public Medical Health Records, "Taste was a sense that aided us in testing the food we were consuming." Foods that are sweet are sweet because they have sugar. Sugar used to be less common so when one obtained sugar, they would wan more of it. This is why sweet is a very pleasant taste compared to bitter which indicates possible poison. This is also why we perceive taste differently. It depends on how much sugar the body thinks it needs. It makes it sweeter so we are more tempted to eat it.