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The Link Between Five Senses and Food

The Link Between Five Senses and Food

  • JustGoToChef
  • Oct 14, 2019

  • Oct 14, 2019

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When it comes to food, which all senses come into play? The taste, right? Well, not completely. All the five senses i.e. taste, smell, touch, sight, and even sound affects your perception of the food, which in turn affects your mood. Let's see how this happens.

When the food is being cooked, isn’t it the smell that comes to us first? So, let us first discuss that

“This dish smells so good!” And this smell is enough to lift your spirits high. From the smell itself, you decide whether you will enjoy the food or not. Suppose the food did not smell right, your energy goes down even before you have tasted it. You might not even want to take the first bite. Think of a foul smelling fish curry, for instance.

This is because taste and smell meet in the same portion of the brain that helps in decision making. When we put nasal drops in the nose, don’t we taste them in our mouth too? So basically it’s not just in the brain that the two are connected, but physically too.

And sometimes it’s mainly the way the food smells that makes all the difference. For example, would sniffing your morning coffee be as uplifting if it did not smell the same way?

In fact it’s not just how the food smells, but also the smell of the environment where you are eating that affects your perception of the food. If you are sitting in a place that stinks, no matter how good the food is, the probability is that you won't like it.

After the food is cooked and ready to be served, what happens next? You see it.

We judge the taste of a particular food item based on our past experiences, and somewhat on how it is presented. If you had a good experience in the past, the mere mention of a dish would bring you joy and you would start visualising the mouth watering dish. But imagine just in case the solid food is black in color, you’ll probably associate it with the food being burnt and tasting bitter. The sight would be enough to take away all the joy.

If a dish is served to you all messy, you might not even want to eat it. That is one of the reasons why the chefs put so much effort in presenting the dish. It’s not for no reason that even cakes that are decorated well appeal to us first.

Now, after you have seen and smelled the food, let’s eat it with a fork, or a spoon, or hands may be. And this is where the sense of touch comes into play.

The same way as smell, the texture of food activates your taste sensation too, and in turn your mood. A soggy burger might spoil the mood, whereas a crisp clean one will keep the mood intact, the basic difference being the texture.

Another way in which touch affects your perception of food can be noticed in the way or the cutlery with which you eat food. Eating noodles with a fork or a spoon makes a lot of difference to the eating experience. Same way, it also matters whether you are eating with a plastic fork or a steel one. Whereas the former might irritate you, the latter will be a fine experience. Thus, even the material of cutlery or the shape in which it is made, and also the way it feels makes a lot of difference in your eating experience. Maybe that’s the reason why tea is usually preferred in bone china and not in glasses made of plastic.

In the same way, we can see how people in North India say that the taste of kadhi-chawal increases manifolds when eaten with hands. And the people from South India prefer eating most of their meals with hands, stating that it enriches their food experience. That’s about how you eat the food, but what about its sound?

Do you really hear the sound of food? Let us find out.

The connection between food and sound may not seem so obvious, but it does make up for something. Take for instance, which chips would you prefer eating? The crispy ones, that make a sound when you bite them or the soggy ones?

Also, imagine the moment when the sizzler comes to your table in a restaurant. The sizzling plate is so enticing that you feel like popping the food in your mouth straight away. Imagine it all being accompanied by some good music!

Now comes the combination of it all- how does the food taste?

For every individual, the definition of good taste will vary. The human tongue, according to the scientists, can differentiate between seven types of tastes i.e. bitter, salty, sour, astringent, sweet, pungent, and umami. 

For some, one vegetable could be too spicy, and for others it could be normal. Similarly, whereas some might find a dessert too sweet, others might not. This depends on what your tongue is sensitive to. 

In fact, your body gives an indication of the mineral it requires through taste only. It is likely that when the body needs protein, you’ll crave for a savoury taste; and when it needs carbohydrates, you’ll crave for something sweet.

Isn’t it clear now, how it’s not just the taste but all the five senses together that form a good or a bad food experience? So, the next time you have to praise or criticise some food, remember that it’s not just its taste that is affecting your opinion about it, but all the senses together.

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