I tried swishing with water and carbonated water, even
alcohol when I got home; I tried brushing my teeth several times but it was
still there.
This is a series of posts in which I share snippets of what it's like to be a food scientist. As a product developer for dry powder shakes, there are some lessons I never learned in school and some challenges I never saw coming.
Green-Eyed Insight on The Linger
It all started when we decided to screen different brands of stevia to improve Cost of Goods. Stevia is stevia is stevia, right? Oh, so
wrong. One of those brands didn't seem as pure as the others and gave me a hint
of a bitter metallic taste that just wouldn't go away. This is called The
Linger, and it's a fairly common experience among food scientists and product
developers.
When I asked my colleagues if they'd ever had a taste that
just wouldn't go away they all smiled and laughed with a look of nostalgia on
their faces. Enduring The Linger is not a fun situation to find yourself in but
eventually it does go away. The experience is a rite of passage, a
badge of honor, like the first time you have to spend the night in your lab
during Grad School.
Side note – if you ever have to spend the night in your lab
during Grad School the key is to find three padded roller chairs and line them
up so the seats make a soft elevated bed. Point the backs of the outer chairs
in opposite directions as the chair in the middle so you can lie down atop the line
of seats and have a makeshift wall on either side. If these padded chairs are on
wheels (and they usually are) make sure the wheels are locked or that the outside
chairs are pushed up against a desk or a wall. If you're taller than 5'
1.5", it might take more than 3 chairs, but the key is to alternate the
directions the backs of the chairs are pointing. This alternate pattern keeps
the chairs stable and keeps you from falling onto the floor.
Eventually The Linger does go away but since it's not always
caused by the same ingredient, the solution won't always be the same. A good
tip to remember is "Like dissolves like" so in order of increasing
hydrophobicity/decreasing water-solubility, try carbonated water, coffee,
peppermint flavored gum or toothpaste, oyster crackers, peanut butter and olive
oil. You may even find that alcohol works but please don't drink on the job
unless your boss says it's okay. Until The Linger goes away, everything you put
in your mouth will taste like the ingredient that caused The Linger. Don't
panic and don't be tempted to over-eat to make the flavor go away. Rest assured
it eventually goes away and you'll be able to tell the Newbie your Linger
experience one day.
Got your own Linger experience? Please share it.
Related Posts in "Food Science Life" series:
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