Gastrophysics - Enjoying food with all your senses

Charles Spence, author of Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating defines this realm of research as the scientific study of those factors that influence our multisensory experience while tasting food and drink.

The basic premise of gastrophysics is that all aspects of the eating environment – where, when, how, and with whom - provide essential sensory cue, and that the eating experience is influenced by multi-sensory faculties you don’t even know you have.

In this episode I share some of the findings from this book with the help of Charles Spence, Professor of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, and Head of the Cross-Modal Laboratory.

Flavor is not experienced with taste buds alone. Not by a long shot. And the smell receptors in the back of the mouth are critical in cataloging memories of what we eat and drink. The sense of smell is what draws emotion into the eating experience.

I also look at how sight and touch cues can heighten the appeal of what's on the plate. Charles then shares with me the power of "sonic seasoning" and how all these cross-modal effects can be used to change behavior. He explains how we can eat healthier, for example.

Finally, we look at the future of gastrophysics. How can the five senses be manipulated to deliver extraordinary eating experiences?



Wine sound associations courtesy of Jozef Youssef of Kitchen Theory at a TEDx LSE conference in 2018.