{{Short description|One of the five basic tastes}} {{Redirect|Sour}} {{Multiple image | direction = vertical | header = Sourness | image1 = Lemon with white background.jpg | image2 = Essig-1.jpg | image3 = Joghurt.jpg | footer = Lemon, vinegar and yoghurt are examples of sour foods. }} '''Sourness''', also known as '''sour''', is a basic taste sensation perceived through hydrogen ions from acidic compounds interacting with taste bud receptors, and it can also refer to an unpleasant or acidic quality in taste, disposition, or tone.<ref>{{cite journal | title= A proton current drives action potentials in genetically identified sour taste cells|author1=Rui Chang, Hang Waters |author2=Emily Liman |name-list-style=amp | journal= Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A|date= 2010 | volume=107 | issue=51 | pages=22320–22325 | pmc= 3009759 | pmid=21098668 | doi=10.1073/pnas.1013664107|bibcode=2010PNAS..10722320C|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=The K+ channel KIR2.1 functions in tandem with proton influx to mediate sour taste transduction | vauthors=Ye W, Chang RB, Bushman JD, Tu YH, Mulhall EM, Wilson CE, Cooper AJ, Chick WS, Hill-Eubanks DC, Nelson MT, Kinnamon SC, Liman ER | journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A|date= 2016 | volume=113 | issue=2 | pages=E229–238 | pmid=26627720| pmc= 4720319 | doi=10.1073/pnas.1514282112| bibcode=2016PNAS..113E.229Y| doi-access=free }}</ref> It is a warning sign for potentially spoiled food, though it is balanced in some food products by sweetness, and it is associated with a low pH.<ref name="textbookofmedicalphysiology8thed">Guyton, Arthur C. (1991) ''Textbook of Medical Physiology''. (8th ed). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders</ref><ref name="McLaughlin&Margolskee">{{cite journal |date=November–December 1994 |author1= McLaughlin, Susan |author2= Margolskee, Rorbert F. |title= The Sense of Taste |journal= American Scientist |volume= 82 |issue= 6 |pages= 538–545 |bibcode= 1994AmSci..82..538M }}</ref>
The most common foods with natural sourness are fruits, such as lemon, lime, grape, orange, tamarind, and bitter melon. Fermented foods, such as wine, sour cream, vinegar or yogurt, may have sour taste. Children show a greater enjoyment of sour flavors than adults,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Heightened Sour Preferences During Childhood |author1=Djin Gie Liem |author2=Julie A. Mennella |name-list-style=amp | journal=Chem Senses |date=February 2003 | volume=28 | issue=2 | pages=173–180 | pmc=2789429 | doi=10.1093/chemse/28.2.173 | pmid=12588738}}</ref> and sour candy containing citric acid or malic acid is common.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taste}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Gustation Category:Culinary terminology
{{food-stub}}