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'Locally grown' broccoli looks, tastes better to consumers

Consumers rated locally grown New York broccoli as better-looking and tasting than a California variety, even though it didn't look more appealing. The study suggests that labeling products as local can improve their perceived value and quality, regardless of actual differences in taste or appearance.

SourceCornell University·JournalAgricultural and Resource Economics Review·DateDec 17, 2019

Knowledge of the origin of the food makes it taste better

A study by Future Consumer Lab at the University of Copenhagen found that young Indonesians preferred traditional tempe made with local ingredients and produced using traditional methods. The researchers believe that the pride in a traditional dish can significantly impact its perceived taste. The study suggests that producers in Indon...

SourceUniversity of Copenhagen - Faculty of Science·JournalFood Quality and Preference·DateNov 12, 2019

Evaluating value of senses

A UK-based web survey found that balance and temperature were also highly valued by the general public. The study aimed to determine the relative importance of different senses in everyday life.

SourceJAMA Network·JournalJAMA Ophthalmology·DateOct 3, 2019

How to make online recommendations work better

A new study in the Journal of Marketing finds that user-based framing outperforms item-based framing in online recommendations, providing customers with a sense of taste matching beyond product attributes. This approach increases click-through rates and can be adapted at little cost to maximize return on recommender systems.

SourceAmerican Marketing Association·JournalJournal of Marketing·DateOct 2, 2019

Why young men aren't eating their five-a-day

A study published in the journal Nutrients reveals that young men aged 18-24 are struggling to eat even three portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Young men with the best diets had a more positive attitude towards healthy food, enjoyed preparing and eating a wide range of fruit and veg, and had a holistic view of health and diet.

SourceUniversity of East Anglia·JournalNutrients·DateAug 13, 2019

Fighting child diarrhea

A simple, electricity-independent device has been proven effective in reducing child diarrhea rates by up to 23% in developing countries. The Aquatabs Flo technology uses precise chlorine dosing to purify water without compromising taste, offering a promising solution to control the second-leading cause of death for children globally.

SourceStanford University·JournalThe Lancet Global Health·DateAug 8, 2019

Designing a better low-fat potato chip

A new technique developed by researchers allows for the creation of tastier low-fat potato chips by analyzing physical characteristics. The method, called in vitro oral processing, measures chip properties from first bite to swallow, enabling food scientists to link physical measurements with sensory perceptions.

SourceAmerican Chemical Society·JournalJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry·DateAug 7, 2019

Individuals with obesity get more satisfaction from their food

A new study found that people with obesity experience higher levels of initial taste perception and greater satisfaction from food compared to those with normal weight. This difference in taste perception may lead to increased food consumption among individuals with obesity, contributing to their higher caloric intake.

SourceElsevier·JournalJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics·DateJul 30, 2019

Big data says food is too sweet

A study analyzing nearly 400,000 food reviews found that many people think today's foods are too sweet, with sweet being the most frequently mentioned taste quality. The researchers used machine learning to identify words related to taste and found that over-sweetness was mentioned 25 times more often than under-sweetness.

SourceMonell Chemical Senses Center·JournalPhysiology & Behavior·DateJun 24, 2019

Vanilla makes milk beverages seem sweeter

Researchers at Penn State used vanilla to reduce sugar content in flavored milk, finding that participants perceived the beverage as significantly sweeter. The study aims to develop a reduced-sugar chocolate milk for the National School Lunch Program.

SourcePenn State·JournalFood Quality and Preference·DateJun 20, 2019

Sensing food textures is a matter of pressure

A study by Penn State researchers found that the ability to detect food textures is related to individual differences in pressure sensitivity. The study involved 111 volunteer tasters who were asked to perceive different textures in chocolate, with those who could detect grittiness being more accurate. This research may have implicatio...

SourcePenn State·JournalScientific Reports·DateJun 13, 2019

Do we judge chocolate by its wrapper?

A new study found that participants associated stronger emotions with the packaging than the actual taste, affecting their willingness to purchase. The researchers discovered a moderate positive correlation between liking packaging and taste when it was described with positive terms.

SourceElsevier·JournalHeliyon·DateJun 6, 2019

Why you love coffee and beer

A genome-wide test suggests that bitter and sweet beverage preferences are related to the psychoactive properties of these beverages, not genetic variations in taste genes. People prefer certain drinks due to their emotional and psychological impact.

SourceNorthwestern University·JournalHuman Molecular Genetics·DateMay 2, 2019

Smelling with your tongue

Scientists from the Monell Center have discovered that humans possess functional olfactory receptors in their taste cells, challenging the long-held belief that smell and taste are independent sensory systems. This groundbreaking finding may lead to the development of odor-based taste modifiers to combat diet-related diseases.

SourceMonell Chemical Senses Center·JournalChemical Senses·DateApr 24, 2019

Keeping the taste, reducing the salt

Researchers created salt blends using calcium and potassium chloride to reduce sodium chloride content without compromising flavor. The optimal blend achieved a balance of 96.4% sodium chloride and 3.6% replacement salts, increasing the possibility of gradual reductions in salt consumption.

SourceWashington State University·JournalJournal of Food Science·DateApr 11, 2019

The salt-craving neurons

Researchers at Caltech have identified specific neurons responsible for salt cravings in the mouse brain, which are triggered by oral sodium signals. These findings could potentially lead to new avenues for regulating sodium intake and mitigating health issues related to excessive salt consumption.

Bitter rapeseed

Researchers at TUM identified kaempferol 3-O-(2'''-O-sinapoyl-β-sophoroside) as the bitter compound causing rapeseed protein's unpleasant taste. This discovery paves the way for developing tasty, protein-rich foods from rapeseed.

SourceTechnical University of Munich (TUM)·JournalJournal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry·DateJan 31, 2019

Color coded -- matching taste with color

Penn State researchers found that people can learn to associate colors with tastes and that some people are quicker learners than others. They also discovered that different bitter compounds have distinct taste profiles, which may explain why people enjoy some bitter flavors but not others.

SourcePenn State·JournalFood Quality and Preference·DateNov 16, 2018

Why we shouldn't like coffee, but we do

A study found that people with a higher sensitivity to bitter caffeine taste drink more coffee due to learned positive reinforcement. Genetic variants play a role in this association, suggesting that our perception of bitter tastes contributes to beverage preferences.

SourceNorthwestern University·JournalScientific Reports·DateNov 15, 2018