The nose knows
In my high school anatomy and physiology class, the teacher told us that the sense of smell was so important to taste that if a person were blindfolded and held his nose, he wouldn't be able to taste the difference between a raw potato, an onion, and an apple. She never demonstrated this for us, so I remained skeptical - it just seems like you'd be able to feel the starchiness of the potato and the crumbly apple texture and the way onions come apart in layers, doesn't it?

Well, I'm not volunteering for the experiment, but let me tell you, without a sense of smell most food is just texture and temperature. During my stay in the recovery room, the nurse (did I ever mention that recovery room nurses are the sweetest people on earth? - well they are!) brought me a cup of chicken noodle soup.

It tasted like warm water with slimy chunks in it.

After one bite of the chunks, I decided I'd just drink the warm water part and leave the chunky part in the cup.

When I got home that afternoon, I had a cup of coffee. Now I'm sure you have seen the diagram of the different taste bud areas on the human tongue: sweet here, sour here, salt here, and bitter here. I could never remember where each region was, but that cup of coffee taught me forever exactly where the bitter region is - it's on the back of the tongue, the whole back of the tongue from one edge to the other. It's a really large area!

On the morning after my surgery, my mom brought me breakfast in bed - scrambled eggs, sausages and toast. Mmm, yummy! I made it all into a sandwich, looking forward to eating one of my favorite things for breakfast, and took the first bite, and discovered for the first time that if you can't smell, toast is merely dry, scrambled eggs are damp and bland, and sausage is salty.

I only managed two or three bites before I set it aside.

When my mom came back to get the plate, she said , "Aren't you hungry?"

"I just don't have any appetite," I said.

"Well, that's good," said my mom, a reply which made me realize afresh that my dear mother, bless her heart, is one of those mysterious individuals who inexplicably values the measurement of one's waist more than the enjoyment of one's food. She must not be a Hobbit.

Then, on Saturday night I was making gravy for supper and I realized I had no idea whether it was any good. I hardly ever use recipes when I cook; I just taste the food and if it's not right I add this or that until it is right. And tonight I made bubble and squeak, one of our favorites, but I could only tolerate a few bites of it. I have, however, permanently learned that the salt taste buds are along the edges of the tongue, near the front.

Mexican food is still pretty tasty, even if the main flavor is "hot." Also Starbuck's Frapuccinos are very tasty, since they are a perfect blend of bitter and sweet with plenty of ice chips and whipped cream to make a nice sensation on the tongue.

The doctor said that I could expect to have my sense of smell back within six weeks of the surgery. While I'm waiting, I'm learning to praise God for the amazingly complicated way he made such a simple pleasure as taste.

And praying I don't gain too much weight from all the frapuccinos! ;-)