francene--blog. Year 2013
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June 26th

6/26/2013

 
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Cutlery can influence the way food tastes. How we experience food is a multisensory experience involving taste, feel of the food in our mouths, aroma, and the feasting of our eyes. The study in the journal Flavour suggests the brain makes judgments on food even before it goes in the mouth. Size, weight, shape and color all have an effect on flavor.

A University of Oxford team worked with more than 100 students. Three experiments looked at the influence of weight, color and shape of cutlery on taste. The researchers found that when the weight of the cutlery confirms to expectations, this had an impact on how the food tastes. For example, food tasted sweeter on the small spoons that are traditionally used to serve desserts. Cheese tastes saltier when eaten from a knife rather than a fork; while white spoons make yoghurt taste better.

Past research has shown that crockery can also alter our perception of food and drink. For example, people generally eat less when food is served on smaller plates, which could help dieters.


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Taste is one of the main pleasures in life. Every morning, while eating fruit to break my fast, I thank God for my perception. Taste is one of those senses some people take for granted—until they get a cold.

However, the ability to taste food is a life-and-death matter. Failure to recognize food with a high enough caloric content could mean a slow death from malnutrition. Failure to detect a poison could result in near-instant death. And now, as researchers begin to understand some of the nuts and bolts of taste perception; it seems that the sense of taste may also have more subtle effects on health.

Taste is the sense by which the chemical qualities of food in the mouth are distinguished by the brain, based on information provided by the taste buds.

The five qualities are salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and umami, the last being the Japanese term for a savory sensation. Salty and sour detection is needed to control salt and acid balance. Bitter detection warns of foods containing poisons—many of the poisonous compounds produced by plants for defence are bitter. The quality sweet provides a guide to calorie-rich foods. And umami (the taste of the amino acid glutamate) may flag up protein-rich foods. Our sense of taste has a simple goal. When food is in the mouth, we must decide whether to swallow or spit it out. The important decision is made based on these taste qualities.


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Some of the other main pleasures in life:

Getting a good night's sleep.

Smiling at a stranger.

Finding money in a pocket or stashed away in your purse that you had forgotten about.

The wind in your hair.

                                                               A big strong hug.

                                                               Watching the clouds go by.

                                                               Lying in bed, listening to soft rainfall.

                                                               A good hearty laugh.

These are some of my favorite things. Do you have any to add?


Erin Hatton link
6/26/2013 03:30:22 am

Great post! How often do we take taste for granted. And it makes sense that we make taste judgements before eating food - my 4 kids do it all the time! :) I'd like to add watching a sleeping child to your list.

Francene Stanley link
6/26/2013 03:38:07 am

Oh, yes, Erin. Watching a child sleep is a joy.

Lianda link
6/26/2013 03:32:58 am

Not only do these things have an effect on life and death; but your thoughts about food actually start the digestion process! You salivate less, and digest things poorly when you are really not wanting to eat them: like low fat, low taste diet food! Enjoying food is the way we nurture ourselves and take care of ourselves. Unfortunately, too many people multi-task instead of putting their minds on enjoying what they are eating!
Thanks for this interesting post!

Francene Stanley link
6/26/2013 03:39:45 am

Of course, you're right about salavating. I've decided against cutting up fruit before my fasting blood test tomorrow for that very reason. I might lick my finger. Hehe.


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    Author

    Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
    Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

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