5 APRIL 2008, Page 24

Taste the difference

Sir: I was initially impressed by Charles Moore’s son’s theory regarding the position of our taste buds (The Spectator’s Notes, 29 March), according to which canapés and open sandwiches are served the wrong way up. But as I have discovered after some experiments of my own, there is a problem aside from the obvious one of gravity. This is that the roof of the mouth is very tender and does not respond well to having abrasive foodstuffs pressed against it. It would make much better sense if the taste buds were up there and the tongue was merely a probe for heat and texture. Reluctantly, I conclude that canapés are not put together wrongly, but that we are. John Squibb

Shropshire