Today’s culprit is… Jello’s Chocolate Pudding! Oh wait, no, “pudding snacks”, whatever in the label-regulation-dodging fuck that means.

Posting here because this has quickly become a very common shrinkflation tactic where the manufacturer substitutes fructose/sucrose in their main product with the cheaper aspartame and stevia and calls it “healthy”. There is no sucrose-only version of this product anymore.

However, these shrinkflated products taste bitter, unsweetened and are completely unappetizing to me. So I end up having to look at labels very carefully (usually some thin text at the bottom of the label) to make sure they didn’t sneak in some artificial sweetener.

The strangest part is I haven’t seen or heard of anyone complaining about it, are we in the minority of people for who artificial sweeteners are bitter, like Cilantro that tastes like soap? Both me and my partner find it bitter and unappetizing in any product, but only I have the “cilantro gene”.

I did find these articles on the topic:

https://www.phillymag.com/be-well-philly/2013/08/22/study-fake-sweeteners-taste-disgusting-people/ (the source link is dead, here’s a wayback machine link: https://web.archive.org/web/20130826013630/http://www.futurity.org/top-stories/why-fake-sweeteners-can-taste-funky/)

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120531102334.htm

    • GluWu@lemm.ee
      6·
      8 months ago

      I find them bitter and way too sweet. I don’t like stevia but it’s the one not sugar sweetener I can at least tolerate.

      • Mutterwitz@feddit.de
        3·
        8 months ago

        Same here. Can’t understand how people keep telling me they taste no difference in Coke and Coke Zero. Plus it gives me diarrhea as an added bonus.

        • Auli@lemmy.caEnglish
          2·
          8 months ago

          What people can’t taste the difference. If Coke Zero is cold it is bearable to drink but I can definitely taste a difference.

    • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
      61·
      8 months ago

      My husband finds artificial sweeteners bitter as well, including stevia. I don’t. I wouldn’t doubt if there’s something genetic at play.

      I was just speculating about this in another comment. I’ve got one of those “bitter super-taster” genes and I definitely have the same hunch

    • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
      3·
      8 months ago

      weirdly i have never found artificial sweeteners to be bitter despite being extremely over the top sensitive to bitterness, my only issue is that companies tend to use significantly too much or not balance it out with other tastes.

      But generally at this point most stuff with artificial sweetener in it is perfectly fine, after getting used to it i now find soda with actual sugar in it to taste a bit strange.