Study finds sound affects flavour

September 16, 2010, Manchester, UK – Researchers from
the University of Manchester and Unilever’s research and development team have
found that foods tend to taste less salty or sugary as noise levels increase,
according to FoodNavigator.com.

The findings are from a study of how multisensory perception
affects food, published in the journal Food Quality and Preference. The research involved 48 students from the
university who tasted a variety of sweet and savoury foods while assorted
background noise played. The students were asked to track how much they liked
each food and each background sound.

The research showed that foods seemed to taste less salty or
sugary as noise levels increased, and more salty or sugary as noise levels
decreased. The perceived crunchiness of a food also decreased as noise levels
increased.

FoodNavigator.com
also reported that the students were more likely to enjoy the taste of a food
when they also liked the sound being played.