Pleasantness, familiarity, and identification of spice odors are interrelated and enhanced by consumption of herbs and food neophilia

Abstract

The primary dimension of odor is pleasantness, which is associated with a multitude of factors. We investigated how the pleasantness, familiarity, and identification of spice odors were associated with each other and with the use of the respective spice, overall use of herbs, and level of food neophobia. A total of 126 adults (93 women, 33 men; age 25-61 years, mean 39 years) rated the odors from 12 spices (oregano, anise, rosemary, mint, caraway, sage, thyme, cinnamon, fennel, marjoram, garlic, and clove) for pleasantness and familiarity, and completed a multiple-choice odor identification. Data on the use of specific spices, overall use of herbs, and Food Neophobia Scale score were collected using an online questionnaire. Familiar odors were mostly rated as pleasant (except garlic), whereas unfamiliar odors were rated as neutral (r = 0.63). We observed consistent and often significant trends that suggested the odor pleasantness and familiarity were positively associated with the correct odor identification, consumption of the respective spice, overall use of herbs, and food neophilia. Our results suggest that knowledge acquisition through repetitive exposure to spice odor with active attention may gradually increase the odor pleasantness within the framework set by the chemical characteristics of the aroma compound.

Iranian Herbalists, But Not Cooks, Are Better at Naming Odors Than Laypeople

“…But, like the Iranian cooks, they did not receive specific linguistic training about odors. On the other hand, Knaapila et al () find that Finnish non‐experts who cook with herbs and spices more regularly are also more accurate in identifying those sources when given a closed set of options. Our cooks and laypeople groups could also be characterized, respectively, as “regular” and “non‐regular” herb and spice users (as in Knaapila et al, ), but we find no significant difference in naming accuracy between the two groups.…”

“…On the other hand, Knaapila et al () find that Finnish non‐experts who cook with herbs and spices more regularly are also more accurate in identifying those sources when given a closed set of options. Our cooks and laypeople groups could also be characterized, respectively, as “regular” and “non‐regular” herb and spice users (as in Knaapila et al, ), but we find no significant difference in naming accuracy between the two groups. So, given the current evidence, it seems that mere exposure to a variety of odors in the context of acquiring a procedural skill is not enough to increase a person's ability to name or identify odors.…”

“…Positive ratings of a stimulus may increase with experience because cognitive access to that concept becomes entrenched, making future retrievals more fluent (e.g., Topolinski & Strack, ). In any case, we do not know whether the participants' odor naming ability in Knaapila et al's () study was also affected by exposure to herbs and spices because participants were given a closed set of options for identification and because the stimuli were not visually masked.…”

“…As suggested earlier, individual experiences can differ even among non‐experts, such that attention to olfactory activities and long‐term exposure to odors may affect laypeople's odor perception (e.g., Plially, Delon‐Martin, & Royet, ; Royet, Delon‐Martin, & Plailly, ; see also Knaapila et al, ; Royet, Plailly, Saive, Veyrac, & Delon‐Martin, ). For example, Knaapila et al () found that non‐experts who are regularly exposed to herbs and spices in their home cuisine gave higher ratings of pleasantness and familiarity to dried herb and spice stimuli, as compared to those who were not regularly exposed. The same participants were also more accurate in selecting correct odor labels for herb and spice stimuli when given a closed set of options.…”

“…The same participants were also more accurate in selecting correct odor labels for herb and spice stimuli when given a closed set of options. The authors speculate that regular food preparation with herbs and spices increases attention to and, thereby, learning of herb and spice olfactory properties, resulting in the increased odor identification accuracy and pleasantness ratings in their data (Knaapila et al, , ; Prescott, Kim, & Kim, ; Schloss, Goldberger, Palmer, & Levitan, ). Pleasantness ratings may have been affected because increased exposure to an unfamiliar or neutrally valenced stimulus can increase positive attitudes toward it (Delplanque, Coppin, Bloesch, Cayeux, & Sander, ; Zajonc, ).…”