the.com/sour
your tongue's smoke alarm, screaming acid before it can wreck your teeth
means Having a sharp, acidic taste like vinegar or lemon, or by extension turning unpleasant, bitter, or spoiled in mood, milk, or relationships.
from From Old English 'sūr,' meaning acid or tart, with deep Germanic roots — cousins survive in German 'sauer' (think Sauerkraut, literally 'sour cabbage') and Dutch 'zuur.' The whole family likely traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root suggesting something acid or moist. The taste sense came first; the metaphorical 'sour mood' and 'gone sour' senses are later sourings of the same word.
- acid detector
- Sour taste literally measures hydrogen ions on the tongue
- warning system
- Evolved to flag unripe fruit and spoiled food
- face reflex
- The sour pucker is hardwired even in newborns
- saliva trigger
- Sourness sparks the biggest spit response of any taste
- craved hard
- Kids tolerate far more sour than adults can stomach
sourdough bread — san francisco's signature fermented bread, made with wild yeast starter for 150+ years
sour candy — warheads extreme sour candy, measures 9+ on sour intensity scale
sour cherry — montmorency sour cherry, grown in michigan producing 250+ million pounds annually
sour cream — cultured dairy product with lactic acid, staple in eastern european and american cuisines