Frontiers of Food Science: Do Sound and Color Affect Flavor?

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio

Milk Street Radio

Food, Arts

4.4 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 8 January 2021

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Experimental psychologist Charles Spence introduces us to gastrophysics, the science of how the brain melds color, smell and sound to create powerful multisensory taste experiences. Plus, Nicola Twilley investigates the rise of alternative sugars; Alex Aïnouz goes on a hunt for the ultimate knife; and we offer a recipe inspired by Tel Aviv’s Shlomo & Doron, where hummus gets a Mexican twist.

Get the recipe for Hummus with Chipotle Black Beans and Tomato Salsa: https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/tomato-salsa-chipotle-black-beans-hummus

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Milks Street Listers. This is Chris Kimball, and I need a little bit of help. We're working on
0:04.6	a story about the foods people eat around the world when they experience the loss of loved ones.
0:09.8	So if there are dishes or food traditions that you would like to share, you can leave us a voicemail
0:15.4	at 617-249-3167 or send us a voicememmo at radio tips at 177milkstreet.com. One more time.
0:27.2	Hi, this is Christopher Kimball. Thanks for downloading this week's podcast. You can go to our website,
0:48.3	www.177milks Street.com, to stream our television show, get our recipes, or take our free online cooking classes. Enjoy the show.
1:02.8	This is Milks Street Radio from PRX on your host, Christopher Kimball.
1:07.6	Today we're talking with experimental psychologist Charles Spence about gastrophysics,
1:13.0	including how sound can have a profound impact on flavor. I think how often do you cry in response
1:19.2	to seafood? Never. I think the exact answer for most of us. Why am I even wearing headphones at
1:23.9	all when I eat my seafood? And at some point all of those sensory triggers have resolved themselves
1:28.6	and you kind of get it. Also toppings on hummus and searching the world for the best knife.
1:34.9	But first, my interview with Nikki Twilly, who volunteered to taste her way through alternative
1:40.0	sugars. Nikki, welcome to Milks Street. Thank you for having me. Let's start with that we consume
1:48.6	here in the States three pounds of sugar per week or some enormous amount. And so the industry is
1:56.3	looking for ways to deliver the same level of sweetness, but with fewer calories. Yeah, that's the huge
2:05.1	problem. The average American I think consumes something ridiculous like 19 teaspoons of
2:10.6	added sugar a day. And the World Health Organization says you should be doing 60 spoons max
2:17.8	ideally three. So that is a huge gap. And food companies are trying to figure out how they can
2:26.0	do something about it. Our sugar receptors I think the quotas are tuned to the level of a right
2:32.0	banana. In other words, you have to use a lot of sugar to know what sweet versus bitterness you
2:38.0	can tell right off. Yeah, our receptors are tuned to help us find sweet delicious things.
	...

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