There is a well-known expression “you eat with your eyes first.” While this may be true, research suggests that that more than a few senses play a role in how you perceive the taste of food. Sound may also be involved.
Cross-Modal Interactions
There are five traditional human senses: touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. Cross-modal interactions occur when two or more senses are involved in determining how you experience something.
This comes into play with food. How you perceive the taste of an apple can be influenced not only by the color but by the crisp sound you hear when you bite into it.
But not all experts agree. Gary Pickering is a professor of biological sciences and psychology at Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario. He believes that most cross-modal interactions are psychological rather than peripheral. Take wine as an example. Pickering hypothesizes that you can change a person’s perception of sourness in white wine just by adjusting how much citrus flavor there is or make a red wine taste more like berries just by making the color deeper.
“That’s a psychological association (between citrus flavours and sourness, and the colour red and berry flavour),” he said. “That carries on at an unconscious level when we try complex products like a wine.”
Sonic Seasoning
Sonic seasoning is the idea of using sounds to alter how much someone enjoys a product. Chefs and restaurateurs are using this idea to offer their diners a deeper culinary experience through the use of soundscapes. Soundscapes rely on research to associate specific notes and tones with different tasting notes, such as sweet, sour or any flavor found in your favorite dish from Morning Birds Bakery.
This is nothing new – Rice Krispies described the snap, crackle and pop of their cereal in a radio advert in 1932. Advertisers have gotten more advanced, with one company spending years developing the perfect bubbling sound to play while soda is poured on the television screen.
Can Better Hearing Lead to Better Tasting Food?
To learn more about the benefits of treating your hearing loss with hearing aids or to schedule an appointment with a hearing professional, contact Western Montana Hearing and Speech today.