Sweetness
Any flavour or gustatory perception that could be vaguely described as something like tasting honey is called a sweet sensation. We use words like yummy, sugary, umami, caramelly, savory, candied, spicy, brothy, glazed, meaty, syrupy etc. to describe these flavours. We can make binary descriptions of sweet sensations by comparing them with other sensations, and historically the great pioneers of chemistry by direct contact with their discoveries. But now testing supersedes tasting, so consider an experiment: Dissolve many similar test particles in water and pass a beam of polarized light through the solution. Check to see if the axis of polarization varies. If the angle does not change, then say that the particle is not sweet and write $\delta_{\sf{S}}=0$. If the axis is rotated clockwise, then the particle is a dextrorotary isomer like most naturally occurring sugars. So say that the particle is sugary, and express this mathematically as $\delta_{\sf{S}}=+1$. If the axis is rotated counterclockwise, then the particle is a levorotary isomer like most naturally occurring amino acids. Then call the sensation savory and write $\delta_{\sf{S}}=-1$. The number $\delta_{\sf{S}}$ is called the sweetness. It may, for example, be perceived directly in the flavour difference between spearmint leaves and caraway seeds.

Here is a link to the most recent version of this content, including the full text.

 Summary
 Adjective Definition Sweetness $\delta_{\sf{S}} \equiv \begin{cases} +1 &\sf{\text{if a sweet taste sensation is sugary }} \\ \; \; 0 &\sf{\text{if a sensation is not sweet }} \\ -1 &\sf{\text{if a sweet taste sensation is savory }} \end{cases}$ 2-10
page revision: 73, last edited: 31 Jul 2022 02:51