People not only like sweet, savory and salty food, but are also influenced by the environment in which they eat. Cornell University food scientists have used virtual reality to show how people's perception of real food can be changed by their environment.
“When we eat, we not only perceive the taste and aroma of food, we get sensory input from our environment — our eyes, ears, even our memories of the environment,” said Robin Dando, associate professor of nutritional science and senior author of the study.
About 50 panelists who used virtual reality headsets while eating were given three identical samples of blue cheese. The study participants were virtually placed in a standard sensor hutch, a pleasant park bench and the Cornell cowshed to watch 360-degree custom videos.
The panelists were unaware that the cheese samples were identical and rated the pungency of the blue cheese significantly higher in the cowshed shed than in the sensory booth or virtual park bench.
To check the sharpness results, panelists also rated the saltiness of the three samples – and researchers found there was no statistical difference between them.
