Prejudices: a great brake also for food

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By pro_admin

Prejudices in food are the order of the day, mainly usually based on personal opinions due to a bad experience although they can also be regulated through external influences, whether cultural, religious or, simply, through negative suggestion that can cause food misgivings by an acquaintance or relative.

This behavior can be highly enhanced in the figure of children, who, if necessary, can reject a dish just because of its appearance. An attitude that is not surprising to find in many adult women like us, either by preconceived misconceptions or judgments issued with excessive haste, we can get to give up magnificent foods that may be a pleasant personal experience.

Prejudices: suggestion of a psychological nature

A recent study carried out by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the University of Oxford and King’s College London concluded that suggestion caused by prejudice can even cause changes in the sensory perceptions we have of food. The volunteers who participated in this research were subjected to several tests, establishing striking and curious results.

Faced with the same yogurt, consumers perceived higher quality and better taste if they consumed it with a metal spoon instead of a plastic one. These participants felt satiated eating an equal amount of cereal if the bowl used was heavier. They were also influenced by the color of the dish, when ingesting a strawberry mousse, the volunteers believed that it tasted better on a white container and on a black one.

From here we can draw a very clear conclusion, it is our ability to access reality and our perception of what surrounds us which, on many occasions, determines the tastes we have and the predisposition we show to any novelty that occurs in our lives, even in the form of food.

Common food biases

As children we tend to show more reluctance to consume vegetables or fruits, perhaps because their appearance is less appetizing than that of a plate of pasta, rice or a steak of our favorite meat.

Another common case usually focuses on a culinary specialty of Japanese origin: sushi. Accustomed to eating cooked fish, whether grilled, baked or even fried, the idea of facing a dish accompanied by raw fish can overcome our limits in the face of the unknown. However, eating sushi is not only a common practice in Japan but, over the last decades, it is spreading to the whole world, not without some controversy.

Perhaps the solution may be to put our minds blank, try to avoid any negative predisposition that we may have beforehand towards a series of foods in particular and try to enjoy new challenges and experiences.

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