Why do we have a reduced sense of taste when we have fever?

The reason why we can’t properly taste our food when we are ill is because we often end up with a blocked nose. To properly taste food, it is important to smell whatever we are eating. In fact, the smell and taste combined help the brain detect a food’s characteristic flavour. Smell is so important that even professional tasters often can’t tell what they are eating in a blind test if they have their noses blocked!