Chopsticks, Forks or Spoons? Research Reveals that Cutlery Can Influence Taste

So cheese tastes saltier when eaten from a knife and white spoons make yoghurt taste better? Who knew?

According to new research by a team at the University of Oxford, the size, weight, shape and colour of your cutlery all have an effect on your perception of flavour of your food.

"How we experience food is a multisensory experience involving taste, feel of the food in our mouths, aroma, and the feasting of our eyes," said Professor Charles Spence and Dr Vanessa Harrar.

"Even before we put food into our mouths our brains have made a judgment about it, which affects our overall experience."

The ground-breaking study published in the Flavour journal surveyed more than 100 students who were invited to partake in three experiments focusing on colour, weight and shape when eating food.

The researchers found that the weight of the cutlery had a great influence on expectations and in turn reflected on taste.  Colour contrast was also taken into account. The team found that white yoghurt eaten from a white spoon seemed to be sweeter than white yoghurt on a black spoon.

When the students were offered a bit of cheese with the option of eating it with a knife, spoon, fork or toothpick, they found that from a knife it tasted the saltiest.

Professor Spence told BBC News, "There's a lot more to food than what's on the plate. Many things we thought didn't matter do."

"We're going to see a lot more of neuroscience design around mealtimes."