How Do Our Senses Affect Food Choice?

Sensory Evaluation Evaluating foods using each of our five senses:

Appearance (Sight)

Color: We have a preconceived idea of how food should look Would you buy a steak that is brown and

discolored?

Presentation: Using variety of colors on a plate and arranging food purposefully.

Odor (Smell)

One of the main factorsin determining whether or not you will even try a new food.

Flavor (Taste) We sense flavor through taste & smell together

Our sense of smell has a huge influence on flavor Have you ever noticed? When you have a head cold

and your nose is all stuffed up, you can barely taste…

Flavor cont. Flavor is sensed by your taste buds

Four Basic Flavors: Sweet Salty Bitter Sour

New 5th Flavor: Umami (Savory)

Where?

Fun Facttaste buds renew every 3-10 days

Temperature (Taste)

Affects the flavor of food because it is influenced by volatile substances. Volatile

substances- The substance evaporates easily.

Temperature cont.

If the food is cold the flavors may not reach the nose. If a

food is normally served cold and has

been allowed to warm up the taste may be too strong.

Mouth Feel (Touch) How food feels in the mouth

Examples: Crunchy, Creamy, Brittle, Tender

Think about the way fat affects mouth feel – the difference between 2% milk and ice cream (10% fat)

Mouth Feel cont. Texture

Graininess, Thickness, or Brittleness

Chewiness Hard, Tough, Chewy,

Tender, Very Tender

Sound This can affect how you feel about

the food while you are eating it If you heard a crunch and shouldn’t

have, or vice versa, would you lose your appetite?

Influences on Food Preference Cultural Heritage: How your ancestors

prepared food; based on what was/is available Ex: Thai food uses a lot peanuts, rice,

and curry powder – because those foods grow well in Thailand & are available in abundance

Influences cont. Levels of Hunger: If hunger level is high, the

human sensory level of food is lessened and there is more focus on the issue of survival Tip: Never go to the grocery store while hungry!

Media/Advertising: National Brands highly advertised might be popular but are not actually better than the store brand. Our brain may subconsciously identify a well-known brand as better, affecting our perception

Brand Loyalty: Where you buy and what you buy because you know what to expect; you “trust” it

What’s your favorite food? Why?

5 foods you like and 5 foods you dislike for each food you like, give a reason using at least 2

senses For each food you don’t, give a reason using at least 1

sense

“Likes” Example I like almonds because they are crunchy (mouth feel &

sound), and have a light hint of sweetness (taste)

Taste (Flavor & Temperature),Touch (Mouth Feel), Sight, Sound, Smell