Hot plate: The climate crisis is changing how food tastes

The crunch of the apple, the tang of the grape and the sweetness of onion may be among the flavours set to change amid the climate crisis.

- Gowri S

Some cheeses are also losing their flavour, amid intensifying drought in certain regions; lettuce is becoming more bitter; and a premium ham is being impacted, amid factors such as changing soil composition, reduced rainfall and rising temperatures.

Plants’ attempts at adaptation are registering as changes in flavour, writes Kathryn de Master, an environmental resource scientist at the University of California, Berkeley.

In 2019, she led a study focused on artisanal Wisconsin cheese and New England oysters and found that a drought in 2012 that affected much of midwestern America through spring, summer and autumn introduced climate-induced changes in the flavour profiles of both.

The drought’s impact on feed quality affected the taste of the milk from which the cheese is made, weakening the Wisconsin cheese's distinct flavour of nutty, earthy and tangy notes. Raised ocean temperatures in the same year made New England oysters more susceptible to bacteria and viruses (a particular concern since this seafood is consumed raw).