Mmm, That Looks Yummy!

The Colors We See Make a Difference in the Food We Eat

You know you’ve said it. We all have. “Mmm, that looks so delicious — I want to try some!” That’s because when it comes to what we eat, it’s not just a matter of taste.

Visual Appeal is Pivotal

The food manufacturers of the late 19th century knew they had to get the visual appeal right. It was part of their marketing, as a shorthand to encourage brand recognition, to make consumers feel comfortable about quality and overcome worries (or realities) about spoilage as food production became industrialized, says Ai Hisano, author of “Visualizing Taste: How Business Changed the Look of What You Eat.”

Synthetic dyes helped overcome problems like foods losing color in the production process and helped make foods look more “natural,” she says. Then, over time, dyes were deployed to make foods look “fun” and appealing to audiences like young children. (That doesn’t mean manufacturers didn’t sometimes use colorants that could even be deadly — hence the reason there’s regulation.)

We Become Conditioned to Coloring

The connections we make between colors and foods are learned, says Devina Wadhera, faculty associate at the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts of Arizona State University. “Throughout our lives, we make associations which mean things. Cake is associated with birthdays. Ice cream is associated with parties and good times, so everything is associative learning. Color is one of those things that we have this tendency to learn about different flavor pairings.”

The Importance of Context

The connections that we make between color and taste can also change according to the context, says Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford. A blue liquid in a plastic cup in a bathroom? Could be minty mouthwash. The exact same color liquid, in a bar, held in a rocks glass? Could be bitter gin.

It can even extend past the food itself to the colors involved in its presentation, Wadhera says, pointing to research showing people eating different amounts or preferring certain foods linked to the colors of the dishes used to serve them. And much of the time, she says, people aren’t necessarily aware they’re doing it.

“There’s a lot of things with color that you can manipulate and affect judgments,” she says. “You don’t think of it, though. … We make automatic judgments on the food and we don’t even realize it.”

The Role of Synthetic Dyes

For well over a century, food manufacturers in the United States have used synthetic dyes in their products as part of their production and marketing efforts. Often, it’s been in hopes of making a mass-produced food look as fresh and natural as possible, reminiscent of the raw ingredients used in its production. In other cases, it’s been about making an item look interesting or distinctive from competitors, like candies or desserts in an electric blue or neon pink. Think “blue raspberry Slurpee” or “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.”

It hasn’t been without controversy. Over the decades, there have been pushback and government regulation over just HOW food and drink have been colored, most recently with the decision last month from the federal Food and Drug Administration to ban red dye No. 3 from foods and oral-ingested drugs because of concerns over a possible cancer risk. But no one’s calling for food NOT to be colorful.

Conclusion

The connection between what we see and what we eat is a powerful one, and one that has been manipulated by food manufacturers for centuries. Whether it’s the bright red of a candy apple or the electric blue of a Slurpee, the colors we see can influence our perceptions and our preferences. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how the food industry continues to evolve and adapt to changing consumer tastes and preferences.

FAQs

Q: Why do food manufacturers use synthetic dyes?
A: Food manufacturers use synthetic dyes to make their products look fresh and natural, or to make them stand out on store shelves. They also help to overcome problems like foods losing color during the production process.

Q: Is it true that the colors we see can affect our preferences?
A: Yes, research has shown that the colors we see can influence our preferences and our perceptions of taste. For example, a blue liquid might be perceived as sweeter than the same liquid in a different color.

Q: How do we make these connections between colors and flavors?
A: We make these connections through associative learning, where we link certain colors to certain flavors or foods based on our past experiences.