Self-proclaimed omnivore and culinary journalist Joël Broekaert takes the viewer along in an adventurous research into the world and the history behind the five basic tastes. Joël devotes his life to everything that has to do with food, and everything related to taste. But what are sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami exactly? Why do those flavors exist? Why are we tasting them? Why are we always looking for sweets, why did we start to eat bitterly and why was salt so scarce in the past?
Episode 1
Joël discovers why everyone loves sweet. In Ethiopia he eats fresh forest honey with danger for his own life. Is our love for sweet going too far?
Episode 2
Bitter is naturally a warning from nature, but why are we still going to eat? Joël travels to Suriname where the extremely bitter sopropo is daily cost.
Episode 3
Why do we like to add salt to our food? And where does it come from? In the hottest place on earth, Joël is chopping salt blocks and in Iceland he sees how salt is extracted directly from the sea.
Episode 4
Acid is not really an invitation to eat something in nature. Why do we like it so much? In Japan Joël discovers why they serve sour vegetables with every meal and in Peru he tastes ceviche.
Episode 5
Umami is our youngest basic taste. Joël is traveling to the cradle of this savory taste: Japan. Because what is umami exactly and why do we know so little about it in the West?
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