MALAYSIA is blessed with a variety of delicious cuisines. And Malaysians are known for our very unique greeting, "Dah makan?"
Many Malaysians go on food tours around the country just to try out specialty of the different states.
While the ingredients and recipe make a difference in the taste of a dish, there has been research that suggests that the noise in a room can also affect the taste of food.
Is this true?
Verdict:
TRUE
Yes, studies have shown that noise can have an impact on our perception of food and taste.
In one study, the researchers asked participants to eat chips and cookies while listening to white noise at either high or low volumes, or in silence.
They found that the eaters perceived saltiness and sweetness as less intense when they ate the food in the presence of loud background noise, in contrast to when they ate it with quieter or no background noise.
A professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, Charles Spence, says there isn’t enough brain research yet to explain exactly why some flavours seem to be suppressed by surrounding noise while others might be heightened.
He says neurogastronomy is still a relatively new discipline, having only emerged over the last decade or so.
Other studies suggests that it’s not just the volume of sounds that seems to affect flavour — the type of sound might play a role, too.
There are a few ways in which noise can influence our eating experience which includes sensory overload, distraction, altered perception and stress and anxiety.
Each of these causes an alteration in our perception of our food, particularly tastes and flavours.
It is, however, worth noting that the extent to which noise affects taste can vary from person to person and depend on the specific circumstances and types of noise involved.
In some cases, people may not notice any significant impact on their taste experience, while in others, it might be more pronounced.
Additionally, certain types of noise, such as pleasant background music in a restaurant setting, may not have the same negative effect as loud and disruptive noises.
References:
1. https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/does-sound-affect-the-way-we-taste/
2. https://time.com/4110938/flavor-science-explains-how-you-can-hear-the-way-your-food-tastes/
3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233831746_Effect_of_background_noise_on_food_perception
4. https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/restaurant-noise-can-alter-food-tas-10-10-18/
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003682X20307040
