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Role of sound in food perception

by Nicole Weston, Posted Feb 15th 2006 @ 1:05PM

Some scientists are trying to determine the role that sound plays in our perception of food, after the discovery that eating crunchy foods produces small pulses of ultrasound. Though doubtless everyone has heard the loud crunch of tortilla chips ringing in their ears, is the sound the deciding factor in your level of satisfaction with the chip? The argument about the tree in the forest could certainly be applied here. It is difficult to select a very crunchy food that does not produce a sound when chewed, or in which the taste could be perceived as an element separate from the act of eating it. Consider that there are many items that found along with food and are not eaten, though they would certainly produce a crunch if chewed, like the bones in meat. The sound does not enhance the flavor or the likelihood that the bones will be eaten. It is possible that they might taste worse if not for their crunch? Perhaps sound can be described as a property of crunchy foods, not as a separate element of the sense of taste.

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Filed Under: Science
Tags: appealing foods, crunch, crunchy, crunchy foods, flavor, flavors, food, food perception, foods, hearing and taste, perception, pulse of ultrasound, sense of hearing, sense of taste, senses, sound, sound and taste, taste, tastes, ultra sound, ultrasound

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