Hot chocolate tastes better in an orange coloured cup
than in a white
A research demonstrates Cup Color Influences the Taste of
Hot Chocolate
Two researchers from the Polytechnic University of
Valencia and the University of Oxford have demonstrated that hot chocolate
tastes better in an orange or cream coloured cup than in a white or red one.
The study adds to recent research demonstrating how our senses perceive food in
a different way depending on the characteristics of the container from which we
eat and drink.
"The colour of the container where food and drink
are served can enhance some attributes like taste and aroma," as explained
by Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, researcher at the Polytechnic University of
Valencia (Spain). Along with her colleague Charles Spence, from the University
of Oxford (UK), the scientist has come to the conclusion in the case of
drinking chocolate.
Both conducted an experiment in which 57 participants had
to evaluate samples of hot chocolate served in four different types of plastic
cup. They were the same size but of different colours: white, cream, red and
orange with white on the inside.
Published in the Journal of Sensory Studies, the results
reveal that the flavour of chocolate served in orange or cream coloured cups
was better for the tasting volunteers.
However, the sweetness (not the flavour of the cocoa) and
the aroma (the smell) where hardly influenced by the colour of the cup, despite
the participants mentioning that the chocolate was slightly sweeter and more
aromatic in a cream coloured cup.
"There is no fixed rule stating that flavour and
aroma are enhanced in a cup of a certain colour or shade," recognised
Piqueras-Fiszman. "In reality this varies depending on the type of food,
but the truth is that, as this effect occurs, more attention should be paid to
the colour of the container as it has more potential than one could
imagine."
According to the study, these results are relevant for
those scientists interested in understanding how the brain integrates visual
information not just from the food itself but from the receptacle or container
from which it is consumed.
In addition, this information could encourage chefs,
catering professionals and even the packaging industry to think more about the
colour of crockery and packaging. As the researcher explains, "it is a
case of experimenting to understand how the container itself affects the
perceptions that the consumers have on the product."
In the same article the conclusions of previous studies
are brought together that also confirm the effect of the container on the
sensory characteristics of the food or beverage. There are many examples, from
yellow tins to improve the flavour of lemon to soft drinks in cold colours,
like blue, to seem more thirst-quenching than warm colours like red.
Furthermore, if drinks come in pink, they are even perceived as being more
sugary.
In other cases, it has been demonstrated that a
strawberry mousse appears to be sweeter and more intense on a white plate
compared to a black plate. And as for coffee, the majority of those surveyed
associated brown packaging to a stronger flavour and aroma, whereas reds seem
to accentuate this sensation and blues and yellows make the drink seems softer.
Image source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1280307
Image source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1280307
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