Effects of Visual Food Texture on Taste Perception

Food color affects taste perception. However, the possible effects of the visual texture of a foodstuff on taste and flavor, without associated changes to color, are currently unknown. We conducted a series of experiments designed to investigate how the visual texture and appearance of food influences its perceived taste and flavor by developing an Augmented Reality system. Participants observed a video of tomato ketchup as a food stimulus on a white dish placed behind a flat LC-display on which was mounted a video camera. The luminance distribution of the ketchup in the dynamic video was continuously and quantitatively modified by tracking specified colors in real-time. We changed the skewness of the luminance histogram of each frame in the video keeping the xy-chromaticity values intact. Participants watched themselves dip a spoon into the ketchup from the video feed (which could be altered), but then ate it with their eyes closed. They reported before and after tasting the ketchup on the perceived consistency (a liquid to solid continuum) the food looked and felt and how tasty it looked or felt. The experimental results suggest that visual texture, independent of color, affects the taste and flavor as well as the appearance of foods.