So in a way, all the food they detect, they detect it by smelling. So yes, ants smell (although contact chemoreception is more like taste) the sugar..
Keeping this in consideration, do ants have taste buds?
They don't have "taste buds" as in vertebrates, but they do have plenty of receptors that allow them to taste.
Additionally, do ants taste like bacon? These beasts, some of the largest ants in the world, are eaten toasted and are said to have a "nutty, bacon-like taste" — at least according to the marketing that sells the ants pre-toasted. So I definitely wouldn't recommend putting one in your mouth, even if they do taste like bacon (they don't).
Subsequently, question is, what does Ants taste like?
One Internet expert (yeah, let that sink in) says the formic acid in ants makes them taste citrusy, like a lemon. So does an ant taste like a bitter, or lemony, crunchy morsel to a rainbow trout? It is known that fish taste things. They have taste buds, which are commonly located inside and outside of the mouth.
Are ants good to eat?
As most of us know, insects like bugs, crickets, grasshoppers contain a huge amount of protein, & less amount of fat. Ants are also healthy, they contain high protein & less fat. So, if you ever accidentally swallowed ants, it is fine, they won't survive in your stomach due to your stomach acid (HCl).
Related Question Answers
What time of day are ants most active?
Ants are usually active during the twilight hours, so the best time to inspect a home for infestation is around sunrise and sunset. Ants may appear at any time of day, however, so if you suspect an infestation is present, keep your eyes peeled.Can ants hear?
Ants don't have ears. Ants "hear" by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet. When ants fight, it is usually to the death! When foraging, ants leave a pheromone trail so that they know where they've been.Do ants sleep?
YES, THEY DO - but not in the sense we understand sleep. Research conducted by James and Cottell into sleep patterns of insects (1983) showed that ants have a cyclical pattern of resting periods which each nest as a group observes, lasting around eight minutes in any 12-hour period.What do ants do when they get lost?
It lost its purpose in life. It cannot reproduce or start a new colony. It will keep walking until it finds its nest or dies and the latter is very likely. Each colony has a unique “passport pheromone” on all ants in the nest, allowing the ants to smell if another ant is family or an invader.Can ants feel pain?
They don't feel 'pain,' but may feel irritation and probably can sense if they are damaged.Can ants smell humans?
Supersniffing Ants Smell Things Humans Can't. Ants may be experts at sniffing out body odor, according to a new study that reveals these insects have a "high-definition ability" to detect tiny chemical changes in the pheromones other ants give off.Are ants blind and deaf?
Ant eyes are good for acute movement detection, but do not offer a high resolution image. Compared to vertebrates, most ants have poor-to-mediocre eyesight and a few subterranean species are completely blind.Do ants have brains?
Like all insects, ants have six legs. An ant brain has about 250 000 brain cells. A human brain has 10,000 million so a colony of 40,000 ants has collectively the same size brain as a human.Why do ants taste weird?
They have a poison gland in their abdomen that contracts and releases the acid. Formic acid, I'm told, is bitter. Although one Internet expert (yeah, let that sink in) says the formic acid in ants makes them taste citrusy, like a lemon.Is it OK to eat food with ants?
Sugar ants are considered hazardous as they can contaminate food and spread salmonella. Thief ants are another tiny ant variety, with colors ranging from yellow to light brown. These ants prefer greasy foods or proteins, such as cheese, and can easily enter food packages.Which ants are edible?
Ants can be eaten cooked or raw. Their natural taste is sour, and like vinegar, so cooking them, especially with other ingredients, makes them taste better. According to Edible insects for humans, ants can be roasted, toasted, stir-fried, baked, used in salads, chocolate-covered or honey-buttered.Why do ants taste like pepper?
Pepper achieves it's flavor from a mild acid. Ants also create acid, if you don't believe that have one bite you.Are ants made of meat?
Ants are not made of meat. They are made of the same dust that those little moths are made out of.What do worms taste like?
She describes the taste as distractingly earthy — which makes sense, as it's dirt that earthworms eat. "So whatever the bug has been eating, frequently they will taste somewhat like that." The same goes for worms, says Martin.What does tarantula meat taste like?
So what does spider taste like? Well, you might expect it to be crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle and that's not a bad start. The legs are pleasantly crunchy and have little flesh in them. Then you get to the head and body which have a delicate white meat inside, rather like a cross between chicken and cod.Does Spider taste like crab?
There are, however, some generalities. On the whole, insects tend to taste a bit nutty, especially when roasted. The arachnids often taste like a light, earthy version of shellfish, crab and lobster in particular.Are ant eggs edible?
Escamoles, or ant eggs, is a traditional Mexican ingredient that tastes like nothing you've ever eaten. If you can imagine seeing a new color for the first time, escamoles do the same thing for your taste buds. Like many edible insects, escamoles remain largely misunderstood in other parts of the world.Are honeypot ants edible?
Honeypot ants such as Melophorus bagoti and Camponotus spp. are edible insects and form an occasional part of the diet of various Indigenous Australians.Why do ants burn your mouth?
It's immediately biting your tongue and spraying a formic acid mix into the (usually tiny or non-existing) wound, because it understands the smell of your saliva as a threat. The bite may feel like it's exploding and the formic acid may taste like vitamin C, I guess. Eating ants without stinger is not unhealthy. 
