"crunchy foods" news and stories

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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I am a crunch addict. I much prefer crispy tacos to soft. Quickly-cooked veggies to overdone. I even like my pasta so al dente that the toothsome bite is still...toothsome. I think this is why one of my favorite breakfast cereals is the no frills, no hype, no-prize-in-the-box-havin', old stand-by: Grape-Nuts.

Neither grape nor nut, Grape-Nuts are clusters of whole wheat and malted barley so rock-hard they could easily be used to provide traction for your tires during an ice storm. According to the Kraft website, Grape-Nuts are so named because its inventor, Charles William Post, said that "grape sugar was formed during the baking process (huh?) and described the cereal as having a nutty flavor." No matter what it's called, I love the "danger factor" involved in eating Grape-Nuts—with every bite I wonder if I am going to crack a tooth.

Some people like to heat it up and eat it like oatmeal but not me. That takes all the fun out of it. I like it cold, with a splash of milk, and sometimes, depending on my mood, a little sugar. Yep, forget the healthy, soggy fruit, gimme some sugar instead. I also like Grape-Nuts spinkled over Yoplait cherry or strawberry yogurt. It has to be Yoplait for this even though I much prefer other kinds of yogurt for regular eating. Crunch, crunch, crunch! "What's that you say? Sorry, can't hear you, I'm eating Grape-Nuts!" [photo credit: Matthew Klein]