science behind choosing plates... and spoons

My attempt at photographing my
New Year's Eve meal.

I've always loved looking at dinnerware in department stores, dreaming that someday, I'll be buying myself a set of white Bormioli Roccos or Corelles or Luminarcs. I don't know... somehow, the food always look more delicious on plain tempered glass dishes with clean backgrounds. Just take a look at the plating styles of all the yummy food at the photoble section on food photography. 

See? They all look so tasty! 

Notice the background? No? Exactly.

Then there's the cutlery. I like flatware that have minimalist designs, that are durable and are not heavy... and yes, I prefer them to be made of metal. Unlike the dinnerware, I have yet to identify a favorite brand for flatware. However, I particularly like the set used at La Cocina de Tita Moning. I doubt that I could get the same flatware though; the utensils are part of an antique collection! 

I used to think that the my preferences for my tableware all depended on my taste as the table-setter. But it appears that there is a science behind my choices. I came across two articles by Piqueras-Fiszman et al. about how the choice of dinnerware and cutlery affect how the food is perceived by the consumer. 

As the saying goes: "First impressions last." In food presentation, I guess this involves setting the right background for the food so all the good visual features pop. According to Piqueras-Fiszman et al. (1), strawberry mousse desserts served on white plates were more flavorful than the same desserts served on black plates. I am therefore definitely sticking with white plates. Taste is not only affected by the sense of smell; it's affected by the sense of sight too!

The dining experience does not end with ogling at the food, though. People have to actually eat it using some utensils. In my case, I use the spoon and the fork. This is why a second article by Piqueras-Fiszman et al. caught my attention (2). The article says that the metal coating of the spoon affects the taste of creams of different tastes. The authors found out that zinc and copper spoons enhanced the dominant flavors of creams while adding some metallic flavors, all without deteriorating the acceptability of the food. They also found out that the spoons I'm using, the stainless steel ones, did nothing to the creams' tastes. And so I wonder: is it better to stay with stainless steel spoons because they keep the foods' tastes true, or should I switch to copper spoons which enhance dominant flavors and add a few hints of metal?

I cannot believe that table-setting can become even more complicated than I thought!

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References:

(1) Piqueras-Fiszman, B., J. Alcaide, E. Roura, and C. Spence. 2012. Is it the plate or is it the food? Assessing the influence of the color (black or white) and shape of the plate on the perception of the food placed on it. Food Quality and Preference 24(1): 205-208.

(2) Piqueras-Fiszman, B., Z. Laughlin, M. Miodownik, and C. Spence. 2012. Tasting spoons: Assessing how the material of a spoon affects the taste of the food. Food Quality and Preference 24(1): 24-29.