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Serving food may seem simple, but it’s almost more than an art. Oxford published a study on different effects specific utensils may have.
Here are some of the results.
Weight
When a utensil doesn’t have the weight you’re expecting, the perception of the food you’re eating will also change.
Researchers have tested this theory with some yogurt. When it was served on a plastic spoon, it was perceived as more dense, and therefore more expensive. All that simply because it seemed heavier.
The mere weight of the experience will influence the perception you may have with food.
Type
Why is the type of utensil also important? The same researchers offered to the participants some cheese, using different utensils. A knife, a spoon, a fork, and a toothpick. The students weren’t aware they were eating the same cheese.
However, every time, the perceived taste was very different with the spoon, equated with desserts. The cheese seemed sweeter than with other utensils.
In contrast, it was the knife that evoke the impression of a “more salty” cheese.
Color
Finally, the researchers gave participants some more yogurt. More specifically, they were served various spoons on which some white yogurt was prepared. They then did the same experiment albeit with pink yogurt. What were the results?
White yogurt was preferred when eaten on a white spoon. It was also deemed softer and better than other spoons.
In contrast, for the pink yogurt, it was on the black spoon that it had the most success.
Interestingly, the blue spoon “gave” both yogurt the illusion of being more savory than its counterpart.
These results suggest the brain would rather avoid any contrast with its food (pink on black being less of a contrast than white on black).
