YELLOW DISHES INCREASE THE PERCEPTION OF THE SWEETNESS AND OVERALL-LIKING OF POPCORN WITH DECREASE IN THE PERCEPTION OF THE SOURNESS

抄録

Minor changes to surroundings with respect to foods can change the evaluation of food portions, food selection and taste. This study aimed to investigate the effects of dish colour on taste perception. Thirty-one subjects participated in this experiment. The subjects were asked to evaluate the sweetness, saltiness, sourness and their overall liking for the food (popcorn) on 9-point Likert scales, based on its appearance. Pictures of popcorn in dishes in five different colours (black, blue, red, white, and yellow) were presented on a computer screen. The popcorn in the yellow dish had a higher overall liking rate and was evaluated as having significantly higher sweetness than the popcorn in other coloured dishes (p < 0.05, respectively). These results suggest that a yellow dish reduces the yellowness of the food (popcorn) and the acidity, then increases the sweetness.