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By: The opinion
Thursday, September 19
Scientists explain why we crave crunchy foods
For many people, eating foods that have a crunchy texture is pleasant. While it is a feature that does not provide any flavor, it is an experience that is often longed for and there is a reason for it.
Just as smell can influence the way we taste food , the sound does too.
The music of chewing
The sound produced when eating crunchy food is a auditory accompaniment of the sensory stimulus of eating. The “chewing music”, as Smell and Taste researcher Alan Hirsch calls it via Mental Floss.
Noise travels to the inner ear through air and bone conduction and helps us identify what we are consuming. This noise can reach 63 decibels , the volume of a conversation (60 dB).
When we chew, the cortical and limbic auditory system areas of the brain light up, obtaining information on freshness and texture.
Sound is an attraction of crunchy foods . Also is usually related to sound with freshness , not only in fried products, but in healthy and nutritious foods such as apples.
Noise increases concentration on what you eat and can make you eat more
With the noise caused by eating crunchy foods, these products lead to a higher concentration while chewing.
When we hear noise when chewing it is also possible that we eat more . Because noise reinforces our idea of what we are eating, it gives us a sense of security, such as when you cannot see what you eat, for example at the cinema.
“It becomes more important (the noise) when you can’t see what you’re eating,” says Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford.
Not surprisingly, snack brands strive to make crunchy products and make this feature evident in their advertising.
In 2008, Spence and Max Zampini published their Ig Nobel prize-winning study on “sonic chip”, in which 20 volunteers judged the freshness of 100 Pringles.
Participants tasted the potatoes in front of a microphone or not. The sound of its cracking was reconnected to a pair of headphones. Spence played with the volume of their noises, turning it up and down without them knowing.
It turned out that making the crunch louder resulted in participants perceiving that the chip was about a 15% crisper and cooler than if lower sounds were played.
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