Taste and flavour

[Bolboreta]

I've failed an exercise in wich I had to choose the correct word. I wrote tastes and the correct answer was flavours. I always used them as sinonyms, meaning "sabor".

The sentence was something like this: She had been travelling around India tryng new recipes and looking for exotic spices. She was looking for new.....

Could you please explain me the differences? Thank you!

[ROBINDESBOIS]

Flavour= the particular taste that a food or drink has
taste= the flavor that something creates in your mouth when you eat or drink it

That is when you eat it, it tastes good, because it has a good flavour.

So the answer to your exercise would be flavors.

[wafflestomp]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

Flavour= the particular taste that a food or drink has
taste= the flavor that something creates in your mouth when you eat or drink it

That is when you eat it, it tastes good, because it has a good flavour.

So the answer to your exercise would be flavors.

That's correct.
Remember, in BrE it's spelled "flavours" and in AmE it's spelled "flavors".

[Perikles]

Here is the simple answer:



"Taste" and "flavour" are often used, interchangeably and incorrectly. Though generally represented within the same contexts or expected to relay similar meaning, the two are distinctly different.
Taste is all physiological, completely sensory.
As one of the five senses, that which is "taste", comes to be perceived in our brains after chemical receptors (taste and sensors on the soft palate) pick up chemical stimuli (food, drink or other) on the tongue and send electrical signals to the brain. The brain deciphers these electrical signals as information and places them into five categories: bitter, salty, sweet, sour, and umami (translated as "savory" or "meaty").
Taste is generated, completely, in the mouth. It is based on tangible, chemical composites and happens immediately upon an item entering the mouth. It is objective. It is quantifiable.
Flavour is both sensory and cognitive.
Flavour is that which is perceived in our brain when all five of our senses work together to form an impression of what is being consumed.
There is a definite psychological aspect to flavour that is not found in taste. In our perception of flavour, not only the chemical receptors in the mouth are functioning concurrently, rather, the chemical receptors in both mouth and nose (smell), as well as the purely physiological receptors (seeing, hearing, touching) are active. Recognizing flavour requires utilizing the five categories of taste, and translating them, along with the information conveyed by the other senses, to form an interpretation (often, an opinion) of what has entered the mouth.
Because flavour employs the input of taste, touch, smell, hearing and sight, the impression formed happens post-sensory. And, as the combination of perceptions are limitless, and impacted by many variables distinct to the individual, flavour is extremely subjective. It is not quantifiable.
Taste' and 'flavour' may occasionally be used interchangeably, however, being aware of their subtle differences within specific contexts may be of significant importance.



Taken from this