Rather chew on an old sock soaked in vinegar than eat broccoli? If you so, you are not alone, even if your parents say that it is delicious! If you would love to explain to your mom or dad why you shouldn’t have to eat broccoli, read on. Today on the JSP science blog, we’re going to solve that age-old science mystery… Why do some people love broccoli and others think it tastes like an old sock, or worse!?

Once again, those amazing scientists have found the answer—genetic material! If you’ve read last week’s blog posts, you probably already know all about this magical material in our cells. But for those of you don’t, genetic material is material in each cell that causes an organism to inherit certain traits or qualities. (Do you have the same color of eyes as your mom? Genetic material is the reason why!) It is sometimes also referred to as our genes or DNA. What do our genes have to do with our preferences (or outright hatred) for broccoli? It turns out that our tongues are literally covered with taste buds, over 10 000 of them to be exact. Taste buds are tiny organs that send signals to your brain telling it when they detect certain tastes, such as sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. 

Some people’s taste buds are finer tuned to certain tastes, such as the bitterness in broccoli, due to differences in their genes. When your body was formed inside your mother, your genes determined whether you had your dad’s nose, your mom’s, or your great grandmother’s, or a nose that was different from everyone else’s. (A person gets genes from both their mom and dad, but they are mixed up like a deck of cards, so you never really know what a person will be like!) The same thing is true for taste buds. Your genes determine what flavours you taste in food. And because your genes are a mixed up version of your parent’s genes, you could taste bitterness in broccoli, while your whole family can’t taste a thing! So if you hate broccoli, copy this blog post and pass it around next time the dreaded vegetable finds it way to your plate!