A team of white coats from Oxford University have published findings that will no doubt complicate your already muddled understanding of dieting. In Flavour Journal, the Brits reveal that taste, craving, and satisfaction of certain foods are determined by the manner in which they are served. Hors d’oeuvres are consumed more quickly when served on red plates, yogurt tastes better on a white spoon, and cheese tastes saltier when eaten off a knife. These findings, while great cocktail party fodder, could have a profound affect on your personal diet.
Researchers Vanessa Harrar and Charles Spence lead the study and used variables like weight, size, color, and shape of cutlery to determine whether or not sensory cues from earthenware influenced eating. “The results revealed that yogurt was perceived as denser and more expensive when tasted from a lighter plastic spoon,” they said. “Food was rated as being saltiest when sampled from a knife rather than from a spoon, fork, or toothpick.” These seemingly trivial findings show that how we eat could be just as important as what we eat. (more…)
