system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If I only have five types of taste receptors, why can I taste a thousand different flavors?
gpt
Layman here.

You don't taste a thousand different flavours - you smell them. "Flavour" is actually molecules of the food going up into the nasal cavity and being detected as smells. If you pinch your nose, you can only detect sweetness, sourness, bitterness, saltiness and umami. This is why food can tastes bland when you have a cold and your nose is blocked up.