Appearance of Food

               The overall appearance of food plays a large especially at restaurants. The look and smell of a food can capture someone from a distance and make them want a little taste but can the appearance actually affect how it tastes? Fruit drinks that appear as the color of the corresponding fruit might be easily identified. If an individual cannot see the color the identification ability would drop as low as 20%. Then, if switching colors (to not to match the fruit) perception would be affected by the drink’s colors. Color is not the only characteristic influencing taste; visible texture and appearance are key factors. According to research, seeing food induces appetite and desire to eat even if you were not hungry to begin with. So, if you don’t see food would you be able to hold off eating longer?

              The first website below explains how sight and smell play a role in food appearance. They use a moldy piece of bread for an example. The moldy piece of bread looks disgusting and gives off an awful odor so naturally your brain has already decided to refuse it even though it probably has no idea what it tastes like. The article then proceeds to explain how your brain is essentially programmed to pick foods that will supply your body with the most nutrients to keep your body functioning and healthy; a balanced diet requires all different colors. While processing all the sensory information available at that moment, your brain also stores the memories of all the bad foods you ate so when that same situation presents its self your brain automatically turns it down.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Menuism/does-the-way-we-see-food-affect-taste_b_1872204.html


http://www.ddwcolor.com/appearance-matters-excerpts-from-food-product-design-magazine-marchapril-2013-pp-28-32/