Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Want To Enjoy Main Course? Avoid Good Appetizer

IANS, 26 Jun, 2015 01:31 PM
    A good appetizer has the potential to significantly change how the main course is enjoyed, says a study by a food science professor.
     
    "If you have a fantastic appetizer and then the main seems lack luster, that could be because of this type of contrast effect. That does not mean you should not have fantastic appetizers!" said Jacob Lahne, assistant professor in the Center for Hospitality and Sport Management at Philadelphia's Drexel University.
     
    Lahne tested and analysed subjects' hedonic (liking) responses to a main dish of "pasta aglio e olio" (pasta with garlic and oil) after they had either a good or mediocre bruschetta appetizer.
     
    The good bruschetta was made with extra ingredients like balsamic vinegar and lemon zest as well as fresher and better quality ingredients compared to the blended olive oil and dried basil in the mediocre bruschetta.
     
    The good bruschetta was judged better than the mediocre bruschetta but the pasta dish was liked more when preceded by the mediocre appetizer.
     
    One possible reason for this result is that the very nature of the appetite-whetting first dish sways the consumer to compare it with the subsequent courses to the latter's potential detriment.
     
    There had been no research on how liking one dish might be influenced by other sequential foods in the meal until this study.
     
    With his co-author, Debra Zellner, PhD, a professor at Montclair State University, he published the results of the study "The Great is the Enemy of the Good: Hedonic Contrast in a Coursed Meal" in Food Quality and Preference.
     
    "I've always been interested in trying to understand the food choices people make, so doing research in Drexel's Academic Bistro as a unique study space seemed like a natural approach," Lahne said.
     
    The study appeared in Food Quality and Preference.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Not Only What You Eat, When You Eat Also Impacts Heart

    A team of Indian-American researchers has found that not just what you eat but when you do so is equally important in order to protect your heart from early ageing.

    Not Only What You Eat, When You Eat Also Impacts Heart

    Can The World Go Tobacco-Free By 2040?

    Can The World Go Tobacco-Free By 2040?
    Public health researchers have called for the sale of tobacco to be phased out by 2040, showing that with sufficient political support, a tobacco-free world could be possible in less than three decades.

    Can The World Go Tobacco-Free By 2040?

    More children at risk of measles in wake of Ebola epidemic

    WASHINGTON — Ebola's toll moved beyond 10,000 deaths Thursday even as researchers warned of yet another threat to hard-hit West Africa: On the heels of the unprecedented devastation, large outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases could move into the region.

    More children at risk of measles in wake of Ebola epidemic

    Company blames heat for why nasal spray flu vaccine didn't work well in kids against swine flu

    Company blames heat for why nasal spray flu vaccine didn't work well in kids against swine flu
     The makers of the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine say now they know why it has failed to protect young U.S. children against swine flu — fragile doses got too warm.

    Company blames heat for why nasal spray flu vaccine didn't work well in kids against swine flu

    Potential treatment for drug-resistant TB discovered

    Potential treatment for drug-resistant TB discovered
    Researchers led by an Indian-origin scientist have developed a new drug that may serve as a treatment against multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, a form of the disease that cannot be cured with conventional therapies.

    Potential treatment for drug-resistant TB discovered

    India-Born Scientist's Team Develops Blood Test For Early Cancer Detection

    India-Born Scientist's Team Develops Blood Test For Early Cancer Detection
    Researchers in the US, led by an India-born physician scientist, have said they have developed a new blood test that has the potential to detect cancers in their earliest stages.

    India-Born Scientist's Team Develops Blood Test For Early Cancer Detection