This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.Thanksgiving is, of course, really all about the side dishes.And alongside mashed potatoes and yams, Brussels sprouts are a common side on many Thanksgiving tables.Not that they're equally appreciated.But science is here to save turkey day, with a way to mitigate the sprouts' intense, slightly bitter flavor: take swigs of red wine as you eat them.Like any human research study, or perhaps more importantly for one in which you'll be forcing people to eat Brussels sprouts, the project started off with approval from an ethics committee.Researchers then served 28 volunteers slices of microwaved Brussels sprouts, and asked them to rate the intensity or bitterness of their flavor on a scale of 1 to 10.They then alternated their bites with red wine, gravy, and bottled water. And rated the flavor again.Turns out, the subjects scored the sprouts as significantly less intense on a flavor scale after a sip of wine: 3.5 out of 10, compared to 5.5.Maybe, the scientists write, because the astringency of wine interferes with saliva's ability to deliver bitter flavor molecules to the taste buds.The results are in the Journal of Texture Studies, which is a real publication.Unfortunately for the kids at the table, gravy and water did not do the taste trick.But for adults who choose to use this Thanksgiving hack―please imbibe responsibly.Though it’s hard to imagine you'll be eating that many Brussels sprouts.
这里是科学美国人――60秒科学系列，我是克里斯托弗・因塔利亚塔。感恩节自然离不开各种配菜。和土豆泥和山药泥一样，球芽甘蓝也是感恩节餐桌上常见的一道配菜。并不是说他们得到了同样的赞赏。但科学来拯救感恩节了，它有一种方法来减轻球芽甘蓝强烈、微苦的味道:吃的时候喝几大口红酒。就像任何人类研究一样，或许对于强迫人们吃球芽甘蓝的研究来说更重要，这个项目是在伦理委员会批准的情况下开始的。然后，研究人员给28名志愿者提供了微波加热过的球芽甘蓝片，并让他们对其味道的强度和苦味进行打分，分值从1到10。然后他们轮流喝红酒、肉汁和瓶装水。然后再对味道进行评级。结果表明，研究对象喝了一小口葡萄酒后，对球芽甘蓝的味道感觉明显不那么强烈:满分为10分，评分为3.5分，对比之前的5.5分。科学家们写道，也许是因为葡萄酒的涩味干扰了唾液向味蕾传递苦味分子的能力。研究结果发表在《质构研究》上, 这是一本真正的出版物。不幸的是，对于餐桌上的孩子们来说，肉汁和水并不能达到这个味道。但对于选择使用这个感恩节技巧的成年人来说，请承担起吃球芽甘蓝的责任。不过很难想象你会吃那么多球芽甘蓝。
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