Tasting spoons: Assessing how the material of a spoon affects the taste of the food
Open accessAbstract
This study investigated the effect that the taste of certain metals has on the perception of food. Four spoons plated with different metals (gold, copper, zinc, and stainless steel) were used to taste cream samples having different tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and plain. The results revealed that the zinc and copper spoons, in addition to transferring a somewhat metallic and bitter taste, enhanced to a greater or lesser extent, each cream’s dominant taste. Contrary to our expectations, the metallic taste of the copper and zinc spoons did not seem to affect the pleasantness of the samples significantly. These findings reveal that the effect that the metals from which cutlery can be made have on food perception differs from that found when the metal salts are added to the composition of the food itself.
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Hot chocolate is rated slightly sweeter when served in a dark cream coloured cup compared to orange, red, or white cups.
“When it comes to beverages, hot chocolate was rated as slightly sweeter when served in a dark cream coloured cup as compared to orange, red, or white cups [59].”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [59]
Taste and hedonic evaluation of food and beverages can be influenced by the surface texture of packaging materials, servingware, and the food itself.
“the taste and hedonic evaluation of food and beverages can indeed be influenced by the surface texture of packaging materials [59,132], servingware [46,47] and even the food itself [133].”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [59]
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- Authors
- Piqueras-Fiszman, B., Laughlin, Z., Miodownik, M., & Spence, C.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Venue
- Food Quality and Preference
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-04
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 24-29
- ISSN
- 0950-3293 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1988553774
- Cited by
- 60
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- Locations
- Food Quality and Preference (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- RiuNet (Universitat Politècnica de València) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Universitat Politècnica de València (PAID-00-11)
- Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food and Agricultural Sciences
- Keywords
- cutlery, taste perception, metallic taste, copper, zinc, gold, stainless steel, cream, sweet taste, sour taste, bitter taste, salty taste, food pleasantness
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