Are YOU a “Sour Patch” adult? One in eight people enjoy intensely sharp sensations, research shows

If you were to go into a candy store, what would be your favorite choice?

If the answer is toxic waste, nuclear warheads, or Sour Patch Kids, you may be what scientists have called a “Sour Patch Adult.”

‘Sour Patch Adults’ make up about 12 percent of the population and enjoy intensely sour sensations, according to researchers at Penn State University.

“This is the first time it has been convincingly shown that there is a section of adults who like strongly acidic things,” said study author Professor John Haye.

According to previous studies, about one in three children enjoy intensely sour flavors.

However, so far this has not been tested in adults.

“Think of sweets like Warheads and Sour Patch Kids,” Professor Hayes said.

“The market tells us there must be people who will enjoy it into adulthood, but now we have an estimate of how many.”

In the study, the team measured the responses of 143 American adults and 350 Italian adults to different levels of citric acid.

The participants were asked to rate the intensity and taste of a series of samples with different sourness.

For both the Italian and American cohorts, the researchers discovered three different response patterns.

About 70 percent of participants fell into a strongly negative group, in which sympathy decreased as sourness increased (stock image)

First, about 70 percent of participants fell into a strongly negative group, in which sympathy decreased as sourness increased.

Then, about 12 percent were in an intermediate group and showed a more moderate decrease in taste with more sourness.

Finally, about 12 percent were in a strongly positive group, in which taste increased as sourness increased.

‘Most people didn’t like sourness, so if you averaged the whole group you would conclude that more sour equals bad,’ Professor Hayes said.

‘But if you dig deeper, you discover enormous differences between people.’

Both the Italian and American groups showed similar proportions, suggesting that these may be stable across cultures, according to the researchers.

“Italian food culture and American food culture are so vastly different,” said Sara Spinelli, a researcher at the University of Florence in Italy and first author of the paper.

‘And yet we arrive at almost identical percentages, which suggests to us that this is not an effect of previous exposure. There’s probably something very different about those people.

“We don’t know what that is, but it tells us it’s not just the food you grew up with.”

The researchers believe the findings could be used to develop tailor-made products for ‘Sour Patch Adults’.

“This could ultimately serve to promote the consumption of healthier foods and drinks that are less sweet but still acceptable to consumers,” concluded Professor Hayes.