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When it comes to bitter tastes, lemons, coffee, or even Brussels sprouts might spring to mind.
But these foods pale in comparison to one substance, which has been dubbed the 'most bitter tasting thing ever'.
According to experts from the Technical University of Munich, a mushroom called Amaropostia stiptica is officially the most bitter thing in the world.
The mushroom is widespread in Britain - and despite being extremely bitter, it's not toxic.
Also known as the bitter bracket fungus, this tree-growing mushroom is so unpleasant that scientists decided to investigate its molecular makeup.
The researchers found three previously unknown bitter chemicals, one of which might be the most bitter substance ever discovered.
Named oligoporin D, this chemical activates specialised bitter receptors in our mouths which also help detect natural poisons.
This compound is so potent that you would be able to taste a single gram of the substance dissolved in 106 bathtubs of water.
Scientists have discovered the most bitter tasting thing on Earth, and say it makes lemons or Brussels sprouts seem tame in comparison (stock image)
Bitter is one of the five basic taste sensations, along with sweet, sour, salty, and savoury or 'umami'.
The three chemicals extracted from the bitter bracket fungus were applied to lab-grown tasting cells.
Each of the chemicals activates at least one of the 25 different bitter receptors known to science, with each compound producing reactions at different concentrations.
The most potent of all, oligoporin D, was able to activate a bitter receptor called TAS2R46 at concentrations as low as 63 millionths of a gram per litre.
Bitter - along with sweet, salty, sour, and savoury - is one of the five basic taste sensations.
However, scientists still don't exactly understand why some things are bitter and why it tastes so bad to us.
What makes the puzzle of bitterness especially strange is that the supposed bitter receptors aren't just found in our mouths.
Researchers have found these 'taste' receptors in human stomachs, inside the colon, and even on the skin and they play different roles in all of these places.
Scientists investigating the bitter bracket fungi (pictured) discovered three previously unknown bitter compounds, including one which might be the most bitter substance ever found
Scientists used to think that our bitter detectors had evolved to spot substances that are poisonous - producing an unpleasant taste to encourage us not to eat things we shouldn't.
For example, researchers from ShanghaiTech University recently discovered that the TAS2R46 receptor triggered by oligoporin D is also activated by the deadly poison strychnine.
But researchers are now realising that there are just too many exceptions to the rule for this simple theory to make sense.
Despite being one of the most bitter substances on the planet and being of ‘no gastronomic interest’, the bitter bracket fungus is not harmful to eat.
The death cap mushroom, amanita phalloides, reportedly has a pleasant nutty flavour despite containing a lethal mixture of deadly toxins.
In a statement, the authors point out: 'However, humans are not the primary predator of mushrooms; numerous other vertebrates and invertebrates consume them, and their receptors may be tuned to separate toxic from nontoxic mushrooms better.'
Part of the problem stems from the fact that the bitter compounds in fungi are relatively understudied.
Researchers working on the BitterDB database have found over 2,400 bitter molecules.
The chemical oligoporin D (illustrated) is so bitter that you could taste a single gram of the chemical dissolved in 106 bathtubs worth of water
What makes this discovery strange is that the bitter bracket mushroom is not actually harmful to humans. Whereas the death cap mushroom (pictured) is reportedly quite tasty despite being lethally toxic. This challenges the theory that our bitter receptors evolved to help avoid consuming poison
However, the majority of these come either from flowering plants or synthetic human-made products.
Meanwhile, bitter chemicals from animals, fungi, and bacteria are rarer in the database.
On the scale of evolution, this means scientists are only looking at a comparatively 'new' set of chemicals.
Flowering plants only emerged around 200 million years ago but bitter taste receptors are believed to have developed around 500 million years ago.
This means looking at compounds derived from fungi like oligoporin D could be key to understanding our complex relationship with bitterness.
Lead researcher Dr Maik Behrens, from the Technical University of Munich, says: 'Our results contribute to expanding our knowledge of the molecular diversity and mode of action of natural bitter compounds.
'In the long term, insights in this area could enable new applications in food and health research, for example in the development of sensorially appealing foods that positively influence digestion and satiety.'
WHAT ARE THE OLDEST FUNGI EVER DISCOVERED?
For many years, fungi were grouped with, or mistaken for plants.
Not until 1969 were they officially granted their own 'kingdom', alongside animals and plants, though their distinct characteristics had been recognised long before that.
Yeast, mildew and molds are all fungi, as are many forms of large, mushroom-looking organisms that grow in moist forest environments and absorb nutrients from dead or living organic matter.
Unlike plants, fungi do not photosynthesise, and their cell walls are devoid of cellulose.
Geologists studying lava samples taken from a drill site in South Africa discovered fossilised gas bubbles, which contained what could be the first fossil traces (pictured) of the branch of life to which humans belong ever unearthed
Geologists studying lava samples taken from a drill site in South Africa discovered fossilised gas bubbles 800 metres (2,600 feet) underground.
In April 2017, they revealed that they are believed to contain the oldest fungi ever found.
Researchers were examining samples taken from drill-holes of rocks buried deep underground, when they found the 2.4 billion-year-old microscopic creatures.
They are believed to be the oldest fungi ever found by around 1.2 billion years.
Earth itself is about 4.6 billion years old.
Earth itself is about 4.6 billion years old and the previous earliest examples of eukaryotes - the 'superkingdom' of life that includes plants, animals and fungi, but not bacteria - dates to 1.9 billion years ago. The fossils have slender filaments bundled together like brooms (pictured)
They could be the earliest evidence of eukaryotes - the 'superkingdom' of life that includes plants, animals and fungi, but not bacteria.
The previous earliest examples of eukaryotes - the 'superkingdom' of life that includes plants, animals and fungi, but not bacteria - dates to 1.9 billion years ago. That makes this sample 500 million years older.
It was believed that fungi first emerged on land, but the newly-found organisms lived and thrived under an ancient ocean seabed.
And the dating of the find suggests that not only did these fungus-like creatures live in a dark and cavernous world devoid of light, but they also lacked oxygen.
