Can you pick individual flavours used in a dish?

[Heroine of the Dragon]

If you're eating something you're not familiar with, can you pick different flavours? Or, is it just one flavour that you taste completely?

eg... can you taste the sweetness of bolognaise sauce, along with the tartness/acidity?

[Booyakasha]

I really can't. Well, I mean, if a food item is granular, like a reuben, I can taste the individual components-------the corned beef, the swiss cheese, the saurkraut, the thousand island, the rye bread all individually. In a sauce, though, or a beverage, it all smushes together. I can't taste the individual veg in V8, for example.

[CaptHayfever]

Sometimes. Depends on how well-blended it all is.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

If a flavor is strong or distinct enough, sure. You put banana in just about any smoothie and it's pretty obvious, for example.

[steeze]

I can taste individual flavors in a dish not them all though. Not so much in wine. I've done both jobs. Worked as a cook. Worked as a Vintner for a winery. I think what it really comes down to isn't recognizing individual flavors by some sort of god palette. More of understanding what flavors should be present in whatever you're consuming and what shouldn't.

Kind of like how most recipes call for translucent onions before adding garlic. If you add garlic together with the onion at the same point in the cook for like a spaghetti sauce it'll taste off. Recipe calls for both but you're gonna end up with basically none of that garlic taste, you'll get a bitter taste. Which would totally kick the onion flavor to the curb.

Also, I'd say everyone can pick out individual flavors to be honest. Maybe not like a superhuman or a sommelier at the winery. More like, "this tastes so good, why does this taste so good" and go down the list of things that really stand out. I think the talent aspect of food tasting is a well studied and explored palette combined with extrasensory taste and smell. Really rare. Some people eat to live and others live to eat. Same thing with cooking.