Diluting with oil, compared to diluting with water, decreased bitterness, but
increased the intensity of salty, sweet, sour and umami tastes. This relative
enhancement of the salty, sweet, sour and umami tastes is likely produced by the
relatively higher concentrations of these taste compounds in the aqueous phase
when the dilution medium is oil instead of water. When compared to samples
with equal aqueous taste compound concentrations, fat suppressed bitterness, but
had no effect on the other tastes. Fat suppressed the bitter taste of quinine.
Because quinine is lipophilic, fat apparently diluted it and thus suppressed its
bitterness. Removing fat from foods is likely to produce a product higher in
bitterness and lower in other tastes. Adjusting for aqueous concentration