geschmacklichen

Geschmacklich (derivation: geschmacklich adj.) is a German adjective meaning “pertaining to taste” or “related to flavor.” It is formed from the noun Geschmack (“taste, sense of taste”) with the suffix ‑lich, which creates adjectives indicating a characteristic or property. In German grammar, geschmacklich conjugates like regular adjectives and can be used attributively before nouns (e.g., geschmackliche Qualität “taste quality”) or predicatively after a linking verb (e.g., Das Gericht ist geschmacklich ausgewogen “The dish is balanced in taste”).

The term is common in culinary, sensory‑analysis, and food‑technology contexts, where it distinguishes sensory attributes from other qualities such as texture (textur­lich) or aroma (aromatisch). In professional tasting panels, evaluators may rate a product’s geschmackliche aspects, often using scales that separate sweetness, acidity, bitterness, umami, and overall harmony. Outside food science, geschmacklich can describe aesthetic preferences, as in geschmackliche Vorlieben “taste preferences,” extending metaphorically to style or design.

Etymologically, Geschmack traces back to Old High German “giskamk,” related to the verb schmecken (“to taste, to try”). The suffix ‑lich originates from Old High German ‑līh, comparable to the English suffix ‑ly. Related forms include the adverb geschmacklich (e.g., geschmacklich besser “tastier”) and the noun Geschmacklichkeit, rarely used, denoting the quality of being taste‑related.

In German dictionaries, geschmacklich is classified as a descriptive adjective, with comparative forms geschmacklicher and superlative am geschmacklich­sten. It is distinct from geschmackvoll (“full of taste” or “tasty”) and geschmacklos (“tasteless” or “lacking taste”), which convey positive or negative connotations, respectively.