Unusual: hot chocolate tastes better in an orange cup
The taste of a food would be different depending on the color of the container. This is what a Hispano-British study that conducted the hot chocolate experiment suggests.
A hot chocolate ? Yes, but only in an orange or cream colored cup. This makes it taste better, according to researchers at the Spanish Polytechnic University of Valencia and the UK University of Oxford.
They made this astonishing observation by having 57 volunteers taste the same type of hot chocolate in cups of four different colors: white, cream, red and orange.
Identical in substance and in form, you might say. Well the hot chocolate looked best to the guinea pigs in the orange or cream colored containers.
"The color of the container in which the food or drink is served can improve certain characteristics, such as taste or aroma," explains Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, a researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia.
But this mechanism does not always work. "There is no hard and fast rule that a cup of a certain shape or color increases taste or aroma. In reality, it depends on the type of food." says Best Dietician in Gurgaon
This study, published in the Journal of Sensory Studies , confirms the hypothesis already raised by scientists about the importance of the appearance of the container on our food perceptions .
For example, strawberry mousse has been shown to appear sweeter and more pleasant when served on a white plate.
Another illustration, yellow cans enhance the flavor of lemon in sodas, while cool colors, such as blue, give the impression of a more thirst-quenching drink. A drink in a pink container is perceived to be sweeter.
These differences in perception may find a more useful application, in particular for moderating alcohol consumption. A recent British study showed that drinking out of straight glasses resulted in less drinking.
