For example, sugar cane contains a lot of sucrose. The uncles and aunts in the factory squeezed out their juice. After boiling, the water evaporates and very sweet sugar is obtained. The main source of sugar we usually eat is sugarcane. The sugar content of its juice can reach 15%, so it is no wonder that sugarcane always tastes sweet.
Not all plants have sweet taste, and there are countless plants with bitter taste. For example, some Chinese herbal medicines are bitter and astringent. What are they? Bitter taste is caused by alkaloids contained in Chinese herbal medicines. Coptis chinensis is particularly bitter because it contains berberine. The content of this substance in coptis root can reach 5%-8%, so coptis root is a "bitter medicine".
Some fruits taste sour, especially when they are not ripe. What is the reason? It turns out that this is mainly because fruits contain organic acids. Apples contain malic acid, oranges and lemons contain citric acid. However, some acidic substances will slowly decompose during the ripening process, and some will even become sugar. So many fruits are not only not sour but also sweet when cooked. However, although some fruits have decomposed a lot of acidic substances, they still contain a lot of organic acids, so although the fruits are ripe, they still taste sour.
The heat of plants is also different. Pepper is particularly spicy because it contains capsaicin. The spicy taste of white radish is because it contains volatile mustard oil; The spicy taste of garlic is caused by allicin.
Now we have solved the mystery why all kinds of plants have different tastes. But think about it: the smell of plants alone has such profound knowledge, and there are many endless mysteries in our lives waiting for us to learn, discover and explore.