When Writing The 5 Senses, The Hardest Is To Describe Taste

We know that vivid sensory details engage our readers emotionally and helps the reader become part of our character’s experience.

Would you agree this is important?

The five senses include sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. John and I found taste to be the most difficult to write. We found ourselves avoiding writing about flavors because we couldn’t find the right words. Have you ever had that problem? So how to we describe taste?

Because describing taste was so challenging, we created a list to stimulate our thinking. And guess what: It worked. Try it for yourself.

Five Helpful Tricks To Describe Taste in Your Writing

Have you ever read a description of food so vivid you actually tasted it? That is what we strive for. Here are five tips to help you achieve that goal.

#1 Sometimes the easiest way to describe taste is through something else that has a similar flavor or feel. Therefore, consider using similes or metaphors.

Examples:

The steak was tough as leather.

The black coffee tasted like morning

The punch tasted like mouthwash

#2 Flavors especially evoke powerful memories and nostalgia in your reader. Flavors are a gateway to your readers past. We all love food. Eating usually brings us pleasure. Therefore, including taste will strongly impact your readers.

Examples:

A touch of cinnamon in the hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows was a real treat.

A Smokey BBQ brisket slathered in fiery hot sauce tasted like home.

The fresh doughnut filled with Boston cream and covered in chocolate icing melted in her mouth.

#3 Combining other senses will more fully immerse your reader into your story. Combining several senses like (taste and smell) or (taste and texture) will create a more vibrant description.

Examples:

The lemon meringue pie oozed onto my taste buds.

The wine had a sweat bouquet and a fruity taste.

The ginger and curry assaulted my nose before the spices hit my mouth with a burst of flavor.

The fried chicken crunched as I bit into it, the juices dripping happily into my mouth.

Two More Tricks to Help you Describe Taste

#4 Describe taste using a character’s reaction to a flavor. The descriptive images you include in your writing should help your reader get to know your characters.

Examples:

He chugged the beer straight from the bottle.

She savored one piece then another with eyes closed.

He had the pained expression of a man who accidentally swallowed something rotten.

#5 We tend to think of taste as involving food or drink. However, other things can imply taste.

Examples:

The taste of salt in the air near the ocean.

The argument left a bitter taste in his mouth.

His mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood.

Flavors Add a Unique Value to your Reader’s Experience

By stimulating your readers sense of flavor you immerse them into your story. This allows your readers to gain a stronger connection to your characters.

Select details which will be meaningful to your characters and your story. We know including taste in our writing is difficult. However we have found a way to simplify the process. We hope you will try it.

Here are some other websites you might want to check out:

And Tips to using the five senses in writing

Don’t forget to Download our list of 493 Ways to Describe Taste to help you find the right words.

Happy Writing,

John & Patty @writingagreatbook.com  2022

Check out our Post: 493 Ways to Describe Eyes