RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: By the way - back to that caviar - penguins might not be able to distinguish between caviar Hollywood-style or the real thing. Here's a scene from the 2005 documentary "March Of The Penguins," narrated by Morgan Freeman, showing emperor penguins diving for their dinner.</s>MORGAN FREEMAN: To feed on fish, krill and squid.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: Well, NPR's food blog, The Salt, brought our attention to a scientific study that adds a new perspective to that scene.</s>DAVID GREENE, HOST: George Zhang studies evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan. As it turns out, he says penguins can't taste sweet or bitter or umami, the savory flavor in fish.</s>GEORGE ZHANG: You would think that penguins need umami receptor genes to be able to taste fish.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: Zhang says penguins' ability to taste umami disappeared about 20 million years ago. He guesses it's too cold where penguins live for their taste receptors to work well.</s>DAVID GREENE, HOST: His study is getting a whole lot of attention online.</s>GEORGE ZHANG: I am surprised, you know? In addition to studying penguins, actually I do a lot of work in yeast. And nobody cares about my yeast work.</s>DAVID GREENE, HOST: Well, at least we've learned this much. Penguins might look great in tuxedos, but don't waste a fancy dinner on them. They are just not going to appreciate it.
Savor fish are a staple for penguins. Researchers say the birds' ability to taste umami disappeared more than 20 million years ago.