A team of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the University of Oxford did a new study on how our senses perceive food in a way depending on the characteristics of the containers that we use to serve our food and drinks. Their study demonstrated that the containers from which we eat and drink matters hugely in our perception of taste, and the researchers believe that our brain integrates visual information not just from the food itself but also from the receptacles.
Scientists suggest the colour of the cup in which you consume a beverage might affect the taste. Hot chocolate served in orange container is found to have the best taste.
For their study, the researchers invited 57 participants to taste hot chocolate drinks served in four different colors of plastic cups — white, cream, red, and orange. The content of hot chocolate was exactly the same in each cup — same type and amount of chocolate powder and milk was used. And the cups are exactly the same except for their color — they all have the same size and shape. After sampling each drink, the participants were asked to give it a score between 1 and 10 depending on different qualities, such as enjoyment, sweetness, flavor and chocolate aroma. All of the 57 participants claimed the hot chocolate in the orange and cream-color cups tasted better than the others, and they thought the chocolate in the cream cups was the sweetest and most aromatic. And the hot chocolate in white plastic cups scored significantly worse than any other colors, even though it was exactly the same hot chocolate in each cup.
Charles Spence, Oxford University experimental psychology professor, who is also one of the researchers for this study concluded that people can not ever eat or drink without being influenced by the environment. Spence also claimed that our eyes are playing tricks with our taste buds and our brain integrates visual information to infer how tasty the food is.
Spence did other experiments to confirm his findings and the results are relevant with his conclusion that the color of the container can enhance the attributes of food, like flavor and aroma. For example, Spence found that popcorn is saltier when served in blue bowls as opposed to red, yellow containers boost the perception of flavour of lemons in soft drinks, strawberry mousse cake tastes sweeter on white plates than they do on black ones, and coffee has a stronger and smoother taste in brown packaging compared to yellow and red. All of these have demonstrated once again that our taste buds are definitely influenced by visual information that our eyes perceive.
Strawberry mousse cake is found to taste sweeter when served in a white plate..
So next time if you want to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate in all its sweet, warming, chocolaty goodness, try to drink it in a orange or cream cup to experience the full flavor and aroma!
by Alexandra Cai
