Taste Media: Innovative Technology Transforms the Eating Experience

The author envisions the development of “taste media” technology, which allows recording and reproducing tastes, just as audio and video recording/playback technologies led to auditory and visual media. Various prototypes are described, including devices that share tastes adjusted for individual sensitivities, electrified tableware that can modify flavors, taste displays that synthesize tastes coordinated with images/video, taste printers that spray flavored liquids to recreate tastes, and a “time machine” that can age or reverse the aging of food flavors. Applications envisioned include remote taste sharing, personalized flavor enhancement, virtual taste experiences without consuming the actual food, reducing food waste by extending shelf life, and preserving rare or endangered food flavors. The overarching goals are enabling new gustatory experiences, integrating taste with other media, aligning flavors with health needs, and minimizing environmental impacts of food distribution.