Men\'s Health Singapore - June 2017

T

So you’re sit ing in a booth at a fast-
food chicken joint. Maybe you’re there
because of a funny commercial you saw
on TV, or a nostalgia-induced craving, or
it’s convenient and you’re starving.
You unwrap the crinkly paper to
unveil a squishy bun hugging a warm
breast of fried chicken. Sizzling from
the kitchen punctures the Top 40 music
playing above. The aroma of crisped fat
intensifi es. You take a bite.
Hmmm. It tastes, well, kind of sucky.
It’s not nearly as juicy as the ad made
it look or as delicious as the ones you
remember. Yet you eat, and maybe
eat more of it than you should, as if
compelled by outside forces.
The truth is, those forces – from the
texture of the wrapping to the lightness
of the bun to the too-loud pop music

• are intentional.
  Scientists have long known that
  much of what you “taste” when you’re
  eating isn’t about your palate. A new
  branch of research is proving the
  assumption that all of your senses are
  at play when you eat.
  To experience these fi ndings
  fi rst-hand, I paid a visit to Charles
  Spence, director of the University
  of Oxford’s Crossmodal Research
  Laboratory in London. Prof Spence,
  an apple-faced man with a penchant
  for brightly coloured pants, has
  popularised the term “gastrophysics”
  to refer to the science behind brain-
  belly communication.
  Prof Spence guided me through a
  multi-course meal designed by Kitchen
  Theory, which is kind of a pop-up
  restaurant-slash-food lab that
  incorporates his fi ndings. Each course,
  prepared by Chef Jozef Youssef, was
  meant to manipulate one of my senses.
  Here’s what I learned.

HOW SIGHT MAKES YOU FAT
My fi rst course was entirely white. Four
appetisers sat atop an ivory plat er:
a snowy ball, cloud-like cot on candy,
colourless globules with the consistency
of egg yolk, and a triangular chip with a
cuboid topping. With Prof Spence looking

on, I was told to eat them in

order from sour to salty to

bit er to sweet.

I went for a chip. He asked

why. I told him the topping

looked like it was pickled, so it

might be sour. He suggested

that there could be something

else going on. Sweetness is

typically associated with round

shapes (think chocolate chip

cookies and peanut but er

cups). Hard, angled edges

(pickle spears, lemon wedges)

communicate sourness and

bit erness.

But then I bit into the chip. It

was sour, yes, but even after he

told me the topping contained

hearts of palm, white onion,

lime and olive oil, I couldn’t

taste any of those.

He explained that there’s

truth to the adage “we eat

with our eyes.” When our

food loses colour, our brain

loses context.

1/ Shut O the Neon

Prof Spence’s research

suggests that people are

so compelled by colour that

they trick themselves into

tasting what they see. In an

experiment he reviewed,

for example, many tasters

deemed a cherry-fl avoured

soft drink citrusy because it

had a vibrant orange colour. So

by avoiding processed foods in

any hue not found in nature,

you can cut down on junk like

sugary cereals, Skit les and

boxed macaroni and cheese.

2/ Look Past the Package

People tend to believe that a

product in mat e packaging is

healthier than one in a glossy

container, according to Prof

Spence. The nutrition facts are

what mat er: Always check

them when you’re shopping

for food.

3/ Swop Your Dishes

Try eating out of a small bowl

instead of a big plate. The rim

Charles Spence (left) and Jozef Youssef mind-bend diners’ taste buds.

JUNE 2017 85