Health & Lifestyle

Picky eaters rejoice! Knorr develops a SUPER stock cube that promises to mask the bitter taste in vegetables

  • Knorr has developed a new ‘Supercube’ that ‘significantly reduces’ bitter flavour
  • It’s aimed at ‘supertasters’ who are particularly sensitive to bitterness

It’s a struggle that many parents around the world face on an almost daily basis. 

But the days of trying to cajole your children into eating their vegetables could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to Knorr’s new ‘Supercube’. 

The cube can be used in cooking like a normal stock cube or sprinkled over vegetables, and promises to ‘significantly reduce’ any bitter flavours. 

‘We usually want to super charge food and pack it with flavour to make it taste good,’ said Alessia Ermacora, Global R&D Program Leader at Unilever.

‘Yet now we’re actually aiming to reduce the intensity for those who can’t really stand bitter flavours.’

It's a struggle that many parents around the world face on an almost daily basis. But the days of trying to cajole your children into eating their vegetables could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to Knorr's new 'Supercube'

It’s a struggle that many parents around the world face on an almost daily basis. But the days of trying to cajole your children into eating their vegetables could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to Knorr’s new ‘Supercube’

The cube can be used in cooking like a normal stock cube or sprinkled over vegetables, and promises to 'significantly reduce' any bitter flavours

The cube can be used in cooking like a normal stock cube or sprinkled over vegetables, and promises to ‘significantly reduce’ any bitter flavours

Are you a supertaster? 

To find out if you’re a supertaster:

1. Darken your mouth by swirling around red wine

2. Take a piece of notepaper with holes punched in the margin, which are around 6mm in diameter

3. Place a hole over your tongue and count the number of papillae – small fleshy projections – that pop through

4. If you have less than 15 you are a nontaster, if you have 15 to 30 papillae you are a taster and anything more than 30 means you are a supertaster

Place a hole over your tongue and count the number of papillae - small fleshy projections - that pop through

Place a hole over your tongue and count the number of papillae – small fleshy projections – that pop through

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Food fussiness – the tendency to be highly selective about the textures, taste and smell of foods – is often seen as a consequence of inadequate parenting.

But evidence suggests that it’s actually a matter of nature and not nurture, with parents being largely blameless.

In 2017, researchers discovered a variant of a gene called TAS2R38, which turns people into ‘supertasters’. 

People with this mutation are more likely to turn their noses up at broccoli, cabbage and spinach because of their bitterness. 

Research suggests that around one in four Britons are supertasters, although most don’t know they have the gene and simply think they’re fussy eaters.  

In a new study, Knorr recruited 94 supertasters, who were surveyed about the impact of their condition on their lives. 

The results revealed that 77 per cent have felt stigmatised because of their intolerance to foods such as cabbage and kale. 

What’s more, 83 per cent said they were dubbed ‘fussy’ or ‘picky’ as a child. 

Johan Swahn, senior lecturer in culinary arts at Örebro University in Sweden and ‘supertaster’, said: ‘The TAS2R38 gene isn’t commonly known about among the general public yet creates problems for so many.

‘It has, however, given me an enhanced sense of taste that has been a superpower in my past work as a chef. 

‘I also know that the gene is overrepresented among chefs and sommeliers giving them a distinct taste advantage.’

To help combat the stigma, Knorr has developed a new stock cube aimed directly at supertasters. 

The Supercube is made from a mix of herbs, spices and natural flavours that reduce bitterness, although Knorr is keeping the exact recipe close to its chest. 

‘It’s really a simple idea with huge potential for 25 percent of the world’s population who are supertasters,’ Ms Ermacora added.

So far, it has been tested in a small, limited edition pilot trial in Sweden. 

‘If demand is high, Knorr hopes to bring the Supercube to the UK and other markets in 2025, at a price point similar to a normal stock cube,’ a spokesperson told MailOnline. 

Move over, umami! Scientists have discovered a SIXTH basic taste detected by the tongue 

Growing up, most of us learned that there were five basic tastes – sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami.

But it’s time to rewrite the textbooks, as scientists from the University of Southern California have discovered a new taste.

They claim that the tongue responds to ammonium chloride in such a way that it should be considered a sixth basic taste.

Ammonium chloride – or salmiak salt – isn’t widely used around the world but can be found in salted liquorice.

‘If you live in a Scandinavian country, you will be familiar with and may like this taste,’ said Professor Emily Liman, lead author of the study.

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