This is Scientific Americans 60 Second Science. I'm Erica Berris. Got a minute?

Lots of things influence how your dinner may taste to you, how it's presented on a plate, how hungry you are, and of course your taste buds.

But researchers wanted to know if early courses, appetizers, influence the The meals were the same, Brusetta as an appetizer and an entree of pasta with garlic and oil.

The pasta that everyone got was prepared to be only so so.

But some of the volunteers first got a Brusetta that was made to be mediocre, while the others got one

that was stellar. Then the volunteers raided the meals, and people who ate the good appetizer

thought their entree was even worse than people who had the middling appetizer.

The study is in the journal Food Quality and Preference.

This work builds on previous studies that have focused on the perception of food and drink and other sensory

experience. In one investigation, for example, researchers found that hearing a loud sound

first then makes a soft sound seem to sound even softer.

Researchers call this effect hedonic contrast.

The perception of pleasure gained from something is affected by how it compares to other similar stimuli.

Maybe keep that fact in mind,

or on the tip of your tongue next time you plan your courses.

Thanks for the minute.

For Scientific Americans 60 Second Science, I'm Erica Barris.