Plate Color May Improve Food's Flavor

Plate Color May Improve Food's Flavor http://livescience.com/17046-plate-color-flavor-psychology.html

A new study has shown plate color affects how people perceive the

flavor of their food. The study was led by Betina Piqueras-Fiszman

of the Universitat Politecnica de Valecia and the University of Oxford.

It was published online in the journal Food Quality and Preference Sept. 5th.

The researchers gave 53 volunteers small domes of strawberry mousse on white or black plates and asked them to rate perceived sweetness, flavor intensity and quality, as well as how much they liked it. The tasters liked the mousse on the white plates more and found it to be more flavorful and sweeter. They also rated it as higher quality but the results weren't statistically significant. They also tested plate shapes, however, there was no difference in perceived flavor with circular, square, or triangular plates. The researchers felt the mousse appeared more intense against the lighter background and this visual illusion influenced perceived flavor. In the future, the researchers would like to further investigate the effects of other hues and plate characteristics to enhance the perception and experience of food.

Never paid attention to the color of the plates. Paper plates are fine as long as the food is good. We have blue plates at home and I can try this experiment with some blue and white plates.