Silverware May Make Your Food Saltier

Can your silverware change the way your food tastes? It’s possible, suggests a new study out of the United Kingdom. Eat with a knife and your food may taste saltier. Grab a light plastic spoon and you may enjoy your yogurt even more than using a fancier spoon.

Study researchers conducted various taste tests with approximately 35 participants, each test changing one aspect of their cutlery but keeping the food the same.

In one test, researchers hid weights inside the handles of plastic spoons then had participants sample the same yogurt. When they rated the food, participants eating from the light spoons  rated the yogurt as denser and more expensive than those using the heavier cutlery.  Another test where participants sampled cheddar cheese, those eating it with a knife rated the cheese as tasting saltier than those eating it with either a fork, spoon or toothpick.

This adds to a body of research showing that our plate size and other characteristics matter when it comes to what we consume, note the authors.

Source: Vanessa Harrar* and Charles Spence."The taste of cutlery: how the taste of food is affected by the weight, size, shape, and colour of the cutlery used to eat it." Flavour.