When Our Food Looks Attractive, It Can Taste Better!
Our eyes are extremely important when it comes to our food experiences. There’s a reason why restaurants invest a great deal of their time with plating…arranging food items in such a way, that with their enhanced presentation, we’ll find visual satisfaction and want to consume more.
Because food presentation adds such value to our dining experience, restaurants are able to charge us more for it, and we’ll gladly pay as we enjoy this play on our senses. Although we give our sense of smell and taste the greatest credit for what we consume, it could be argued that our sense of sight is the greatest player when it comes to what we eat.
Our sight is incredibly important when it comes to deciding what we eat, in that what we perceive through our sense of sight, has actually been known to have an influence on what we actually taste.
According to the National Library of Medicine1, the results of their studies show that “the effect of color Cues on human flavor perception can be explained by the fact that visual information sets up an expectation regarding the flavor that is about to be experienced.” The articles further explains that this expectation may be from past experiences that have contributed to us making associations with visual aspects of food and their experienced flavor.
This is incredibly powerful, considering the fact that we can alter the visual aspect of food and potentially have that affect our overall taste experience. Knowing this, we can understand why restaurants invest so much in making sure our plates look attractive!
We are taught from a very early age, to make associations of taste based on colors and textures. Starting with our basic colors, we quickly learn that red is most likely a cherry flavor, green will probably taste like apple, yellow may cause our mouths to pucker as we expect a lemon flavor and blue would be a blueberry flavor. We might have even observed a child, or were even one ourselves, that separated their candies based on the colors they liked and knew early-on, which flavors they preferred over others, (to this day, I am a red-colored skittle kind of gal!)
Textures can make or break a meal for both kids and adults. Some people cringe at the thought of foods like yogurt or purees, finding the creamy textures downright off-putting. This aversion isn’t just a picky kid’s trait; lots of adults have the same hang-ups.
Our taste buds aren’t the only deciders in what we eat—textures play a massive role in our food choices as well. It’s not just about flavor; how food feels can instantly make it appetizing or unbearable. Ever wonder why some love mashed potatoes but can’t stand pudding? It’s all about that feel in the mouth. So, if you or your kid can’t stand a certain texture, it’s perfectly normal. You’re not alone. So with all of this said, why don’t we shift how we think about food flavors by playing a bit with appearance?
So with all of this said, why don’t we shift how we think about food flavors by playing a bit with appearance?
Our brains judge flavor based on what we see first, so swap white plates for bold blue ones if you want sweetness to pop. Enhance a dish’s appeal with vibrant garnishes or tweak lighting for a richer color vibe. Try changing what you expect—like serving cool drinks in ceramic instead of clear glass—to alter taste perceptions. Ask yourself if first impressions really match the taste. That’s the secret to turning visual expectation into your culinary ally.
And we don’t have the ability to accomplish this just with plating. We can also make our food more appealing by just being a little more creative with it.
For example, my kids were getting tired of eating fruit for dessert during the weekdays when we were doing our best as parents, to avoid sugary desserts. One evening when the kids were complaining about their disappointment with the dessert situation, I took a large gala apple, one banana, a handful of blueberries, six strawberries, eight chocolate chips and a couple teaspoons of rainbow sprinkles and created a flower masterpiece (pictured).
My kids devoured the plate of fruit as if they were given a hot fudge brownie sundae. Their actions made me realize how incredibly powerful our sense of sight is, when it comes to enjoying our food.
Imagine if our meals not only delighted our taste buds but also helped us shed pounds!
Imagine if our meals not only delighted our taste buds but also helped us shed pounds! This isn’t about tricking ourselves into eating less. It’s about food that actually supports weight loss.
We have the ability to actually alter the way our bodies respond to food by tweaking its visual appearance. By exercising this power, we could actually enhance satiety, fulfill our nutrient requirements and thoroughly enjoy what we eat.
Think of a pizza that makes you feel full but doesn’t weigh you down because it’s chalked full of ingredients that pizza’s don’t normally have, but it looks like a delicious pizza. Or in my case, creating a dessert that actually isn’t dessert but satisfies us just the same!
This might sound like a lot of time needs to be invested, but all it takes is just a little bit of creativity. As we appreciate how much our eyes dictate how much and of what we eat, spending time to make our food look “prettier” to fit our health goals doesn’t seem like such a chore. Wouldn’t it be great if our favorite meals helped us stay fit? This is absolutely possible if we just take the time to think out of the box (or plate)!
- NIH; National Library of Medicine; Assessing the Role of Visual and Auditory Cues in Multisensory Perception of Flavor – the Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes – NCBI Bookshelf; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92852/#:~:text=The%20effect%20of%20color%20cues,is%20about%20to%20be%20experienced ↩︎
