Complexity on the Menu and in the Meal

Spence, Charles

doi:10.3390/foods7100158

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…This added flavor and temporal dimension contributes to variety and perceived complexity of the product to keep the consumer satisfied (Guinard & Brun, ; Havermans & Brondel, ; Rolls, Rolls, Rowe, & Sweeney, ; Weijzen, Zandstra, Alfieri, & de Graaf, ). There is conflicting research about the relationship between perceived product complexity and acceptability, likely because it is both product‐ and consumer‐dependent and it is difficult to define the term “complexity.” There is no consensus on how to define and measure perceived sensory complexity in foods and beverages, but generally the trend follows that products that are perceived to be more complex are associated with higher hedonic values and increased intake (de Graaf et al, ; De Graaf, De Jong, & Lambers, ; Palczak, Blumenthal, Rogeaux, & Delarue, ; Rolls, Van Duijvenvoorde, & Rolls, ; Spence, ; Weijzen et al, ). However, the complexity–hedonic relationship depends on the consumer; for example, Olabi et al found that neophilics prefer complex foods to bland foods and neophobics prefer bland foods to complex foods (Olabi et al, ).…”

Section: Perceived Flavor Complexity Acceptability Satisfaction Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is conflicting research about the relationship between perceived product complexity and acceptability, likely because it is both product-and consumer-dependent and it is difficult to define the term "complexity." There is no consensus on how to define and measure perceived sensory complexity in foods and beverages, but generally the trend follows that products that are perceived to be more complex are associated with higher hedonic values and increased intake De Graaf, De Jong, & Lambers, 1999;Palczak, Blumenthal, Rogeaux, & Delarue, 2019;Rolls, Van Duijvenvoorde, & Rolls, 1984;Spence, 2018c;Weijzen et al, 2008).…”

Section: Perceived Flavor Complexity Acceptability Satisfaction mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The third dimension of flavor: A chemesthetic approach to healthier eating (a review)

Spencer

Dalton²

2019

Journal of Sensory Studies

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Obesity and obesity‐related illness are an increasingly prevalent problem globally, especially in Western society. One of the largest contributing factors to the obesity pandemic is the modern food environment and food culture. It is necessary to identify and develop strategies to increase the sensory appeal of healthy food and beverage options in order to provide healthy options to consumers without sacrificing the fundamental sensory enjoyment of eating. Since flavor is the largest driver of food intake and choice, it follows that flavor ought to be part of the solution. This paper reviews the potential of chili pepper or capsaicin (the pungent component of chili pepper) as a healthy eating strategy, by increasing energy expenditure, decreasing intake, decreasing eating rate, and enhancing flavor and satisfaction. Furthermore, we suggest a holistic chemesthetic approach to weight management, by using the sensory impact of trigeminal stimulation (spiciness or heat) in foods, rather than medicinally, in order to cross‐modally enhance tastes and odors, increase perceived complexity and overall flavor, increase sensory satisfaction, and decrease salt and caloric intake. Future research directions are discussed. Practical Application It is necessary to provide strategies, such as trigeminal stimulation, global culinary practices, and flavor complexity, to consumers to maintain sensory satisfaction derived from healthier foods and beverages. Healthy does not have to equate to flavorless or unappealing, although it is commonly believed that unhealthy = tasty in the United States. Food can be both healthy and flavorful if we harness our collective sensory and culinary knowledge to generate a satisfying sensory experience. Incorporation of trigeminal stimulation, the third dimension of flavor in addition to taste and aroma, such as capsaicin or hot pepper, is an excellent example of drawing from global cuisines, increasing flavor complexity, and increasing overall flavor impression, in order to boost the sensory appeal, nutrition content, and nutrient absorption of healthy foods and to promote healthier eating.

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Section: Perceived Flavor Complexity Acceptability Satisfaction Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Perceived Flavor Complexity Acceptability Satisfaction mentioning

confidence: 99%

The third dimension of flavor: A chemesthetic approach to healthier eating (a review)

Spencer

Dalton²

2019

Journal of Sensory Studies

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“…When considering the blending, mixing, fusion, and pairing of ingredients, flavours, and/or culinary techniques, one should also be sensitive to the danger of presenting something that is too complex. Though, that said, it is perhaps surprising how rarely in the world of food and drink one comes across flavour experiences that are described as being 'overly complex' [24,91].…”

Section: Interim Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multisensory Flavour Perception: Blending, Mixing, Fusion, and Pairing within and between the Senses

Spence

2020

Foods

Self Cite

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This review summarizes the various outcomes that may occur when two or more elements are paired in the context of flavour perception. In the first part, I review the literature concerning what happens when flavours, ingredients, and/or culinary techniques are deliberately combined in a dish, drink, or food product. Sometimes the result is fusion but, if one is not careful, the result can equally well be confusion instead. In fact, blending, mixing, fusion, and flavour pairing all provide relevant examples of how the elements in a carefully-crafted multi-element tasting experience may be combined. While the aim is sometimes to obscure the relative contributions of the various elements to the mix (as in the case of blending), at other times, consumers/tasters are explicitly encouraged to contemplate/perceive the nature of the relationship between the contributing elements instead (e.g., as in the case of flavour pairing). There has been a noticeable surge in both popular and commercial interest in fusion foods and flavour pairing in recent years, and various of the ‘rules’ that have been put forward to help explain the successful combination of the elements in such food and/or beverage experiences are discussed. In the second part of the review, I examine the pairing of flavour stimuli with music/soundscapes, in the emerging field of ‘sonic seasoning’. I suggest that the various perceptual pairing principles/outcomes identified when flavours are paired deliberately can also be meaningfully extended to provide a coherent framework when it comes to categorizing the ways in which what we hear can influence our flavour experiences, both in terms of the sensory-discriminative and hedonic response.

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“…2) Smell is also very fragile and complex because it has a rapid and relatively permanent saturation threshold (19), so the stimulus needs to continuously increase to cause the same excitation. This can be a great physiological obstacle, particularly in the long menus of contemporaneous cuisine, more so when pairing food with numerous wines (5,20). 3) Smell is the most-likely determinant of feeding behavior in mammals (21).…”

Section: First Paradigm: Popularizing the Smell And Taste Of Foodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Until the 1960s, gastronomic pleasure was mainly linked to the flavor of foods (see below) through the participation of chemo-and somatosthetic receptors, including those specific for glutamate and amino acids or umami. From the 1960s onward, first the incorporation of sight, touch, and sound to the gastronomic pleasure, and then the progressive understanding of the significant complexity associated to a meal (5) have markedly influenced the culinary pleasure of twenty first century gastronomy (6)(7)(8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gastronomic Paradigms in Contemporary Western Cuisine: From French Haute Cuisine to Mass Media Gastronomy

Moral

2020

Front. Nutr.

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Thomas Kuhn brings the concept of "paradigm" as the fundamental engine in the progress of humanity. Kuhn defines paradigms as the set of formal theories, experiments and work methods that define a process (scientific, economic, social, and in this case, contemporary haute cuisine), in a given time. According to Kuhn, progress does not happen by gradual accumulation of knowledge, but rather by abrupt advances. In this review, the conceptual evolution experienced by contemporary gastronomy (from the French Revolution to today) is analyzed applying the paradigm structure in light of the scientific knowledge of each era. It is thus reviewed how the first and second gastronomic paradigms, proposed, respectively, by Carême and Escoffier and based on food smell and taste the first and the flavor of the sauces the second, have been replaced by the third and fourth paradigms, led, respectively, by the Nouvelle Cuisine in France and Ferrán Adriá in Spain, and in whose development touch, sight, and sound have become increasingly prominent in gastronomic pleasure. Finally, it is analyzed how new trends in gastronomy: (1) worldwide diffusion of the Spanish tapas; (2) globalization of ethnic and fusion cuisines; (3) the growing disappearance of the professional gastronomic critique and its replacement by mass media influencers; (4) the increase of sustainability in cooking with development of local-, vegan-, and paleo-cooking, comfort, and smart food and finally, (5) the growing role of social networks and the self-itis linked to photography or foodstagramming in the gastronomic experience are leading toward a new gastronomic paradigm based on the global socialization of classic gastronomy.

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Complexity on the Menu and in the Meal

Cited by 18 publications

References 72 publications

The third dimension of flavor: A chemesthetic approach to healthier eating (a review)

The third dimension of flavor: A chemesthetic approach to healthier eating (a review)

Multisensory Flavour Perception: Blending, Mixing, Fusion, and Pairing within and between the Senses

Gastronomic Paradigms in Contemporary Western Cuisine: From French Haute Cuisine to Mass Media Gastronomy

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