The "uncanny valley" of my taste buds?
Because one of my doctors is concerned that I might be developing a lactose intolerance, I recently bought myself some lactose-free milk. I had a small glass of it that night, and my experience of it was very strange. It was definitely very milk-like . . . but it wasn't quite right. And that very small difference was enough to make me choke on it. And yet when I poured it on my cereal and used it in my protein shake the next morning, it was fine.
And that made me really wonder. I've had other milk-like things-soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc.-and I've enjoyed them. Rice milk even works on cereal. They are all milk-like, but definitely not milk. But here was something that was definitely milk, just without lactose, and it was wrong!
This reminded me of the "uncanny valley" phenomenon* and got me wondering if something similar were applicable to the sense of taste. It's the only reason I can think of for the lactose-free milk being so very wrong despite being almost exactly like normal milk. Seriously, the differences are really small: it's just a bit too white in color, there's a tiny amount of graininess to its texture, and it's just a touch too sweet**. And all of these differences become essentially meaningless when the milk is used for anything other than straight-up drinking, presumably because the other flavors involved overpower them.
Anyway, food for thought . . . as it were.
-------
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
**Which is absolutely baffling. They took the lactose out! How does that make the milk sweeter?!?
And that made me really wonder. I've had other milk-like things-soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc.-and I've enjoyed them. Rice milk even works on cereal. They are all milk-like, but definitely not milk. But here was something that was definitely milk, just without lactose, and it was wrong!
This reminded me of the "uncanny valley" phenomenon* and got me wondering if something similar were applicable to the sense of taste. It's the only reason I can think of for the lactose-free milk being so very wrong despite being almost exactly like normal milk. Seriously, the differences are really small: it's just a bit too white in color, there's a tiny amount of graininess to its texture, and it's just a touch too sweet**. And all of these differences become essentially meaningless when the milk is used for anything other than straight-up drinking, presumably because the other flavors involved overpower them.
Anyway, food for thought . . . as it were.
-------
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
**Which is absolutely baffling. They took the lactose out! How does that make the milk sweeter?!?