COLOR TASTES BEAUTIFUL NOW!

How do we perceive flavor? You probably would immediately say through our sense of taste. You might add that sense of smell is a factor. However recent studies are showing that our eating experiences are multi-sensory, with a complex set of interactions at play. And color has a big impact.

Color can fool tastebuds. Studies showed, as one example, that when a cherry flavored drink is green, people think it tastes like lime!

Some people are more sensitive than others. Their sensory systems detect more data. They are known as “supertasters” in the world of food and “noses” in the world of fragrance. They are harder to fool.

In other studies, when white wine was colored to look like red wine, people tasted it and reported that they were drinking red wine -- even if they were oenophiles!

According to a recent paper in the journal Cell, by Charles Spence, of the University of Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology, our flavor experiences are a result of integrated cues from all of our senses.

Visuals are important on a number of counts. For example color matters. In a study led by Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, of Polytechnic University of Valencia, people who drank hot chocolate out of an orange mug reported more rich chocolatey flavor than those who drank out of a white cup.

The shape and color of plates affects how we perceive the food they serve. Round white plates yield sweeter tasting desserts than dark square plates do. Researchers hypothesize that this phenomenon may be linked to how ancient humans searched for and recognized food in the wild.

The way food is arranged on a plate also impacts how it tastes. Is it better if it’s neatly organized in a row, a mound, a circle? Or does it taste better if it is more complex in its design? Chef Charles Michel experimented and found that diners preferred the more abstract complicated plating. They loved the artfully arranged salad more than the tossed version.

Abstract painter Wassily Kandinsky was Michel’s muse when designing his edible works of art.

Even sound plays a role in how we perceive taste. Think crunch! Potato chips taste better when we hear them!

Ambient sound and music affect how we enjoy our food. And interestingly, the combination of sound and lighting yields even more variation of taste experience. In one study, 3,000 people drank red wine in black glasses so they couldn’t tell the drink’s actual color.

When red lighting and soft music filled the room, the wine tasted fruitier than it did with green lighting and sharper music.

According to a study reported in the Journal of Consumer Research, people tend to believe that foods that have a rough texture are healthier than softer foods made with the same ingredients. Despite this, they tended to prefer eating the softer foods. 

It’s no surprise to find that children prefer bright artificially colored foods. And they enjoy color trickery. Green ketchup is a hit with kids, for example, while most adults don’t love it. 

Researchers postulate that this may have evolved due to the fact brightly colored fruits were easier to find in the wild.

Words and thoughts can influence taste. If you read the word “salt” or think about salty foods while eating, your food will taste saltier.

It’s interesting to consider all the things that influence how we taste -- and even more fascinating to play with different ways in which we can affect our taste experiences.

Read more about Many Colors all this week on BeautifulNow, including Anime Colored Italian Cities, Color is All in Your Mind Now, Color Is Changing Worlds, Amazing Rainbow Places to Visit Now and 11 Super-Colorful New Species Discovered Now. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Chef Daniel Watkins. Courtesy of theartofplating. “Goats Cheese, Roasted & Pickled Squash, Beets, Smoked Chestnut, Pumpkin Jam & Toasted Seeds,” prepared by Chef Daniel Watkins.
2. Image: by Chris-Håvard Berge. “Mickey Finn.”
3. Image: by Mike Blackburn. “Alto Rouge [EXPLORED].”
4. Image: by Michael Allen Smith. “Stumptown Hot Chocolate Latte Art.”
5. Image: by Sarah Ross. “Desk clutter.”
6. Image: by Sharon Mollerus. “Strawberry Sorbet.”
7. Image: by Comes Cake. Courtesy of Charles Michel. “A Taste of Kandinsky,” by Charles Michel.
8. Image: by Wassily Kandinsky. “Composition #7.”
9. Image: by Drew XXX. “Tater Chip.”
10. Image: by possan. “Red room.”
11. Image: by van Ort. “Netting.”
12. Image: by nelson suarez. Pan-Artesanal Bread. D’Artesano Bistro Bakery.
13. Image: by torbakhopper. “For the color lovers : San Francisco.”
14. Image: by Marina del Castell. “Brightness.”
15. Image: by Judy van der Velden. “Salt.”
16. Image: by Denise Carrasco. “R NB W.”