Food vs colors - new perspectives

Who said that playing with food is bad? This old rule is clearly outdated. Much has been made to entertain children and help them to discover all kinds of food in a fun way. But what about adults?

It goes without saying that the sight influences the taste. A well-presented dish will always whet more your appetite. But you may be surprised to learn this: color of food can alter your taste perception. In an article of ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2007) entitled “More Than Meets The Tongue: Color Of A Drink Can Fool The Taste Buds Into Thinking It Is Sweeter”,(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070212182136.htm) we learn that research showed that color of food (in that case orange juice) tends to make people think there is a difference of taste between two similar drinks - but with different colors -, while they tend to think juices taste the same when color remains the same but that sugar has been added in one of the juices. 

This opens an unlimited field of work for the food industry in terms of use of food colors etc... But it can also lead us to imagine new properties for our daily nutrition. 

Think about it one second. If a wall painted in red is supposed to give strength and energy, should we not garnish our plate of red food when feeling a bit down? Or in yellow when looking for some cheerful feeling? 

The concept of “functional food” has been quite trendy over the last decade. But this supposes to add a new ingredient to the food, whereas working with these intrinsic qualities that are colors would open natural new perspectives? 

So yes, let’s play with food for the fun of colors, regardless of concerns for taste or nutritional issues. Let’s experience the colors and their effects on our mood and appetite. So what do you feel like today: rather red, green or blue?