Cutlery 'can influence food taste'

Our perception of how food tastes is influenced by cutlery, research suggests.

Size, weight, shape and colour all have an effect on flavour, says a University of Oxford team.

Cheese tastes saltier when eaten from a knife rather than a fork; while white spoons make yoghurt taste better, experiments show.

The study in the journal Flavour suggests the brain makes judgements on food even before it goes in the mouth.

More than 100 students took part in three experiments looking at the influence of weight, colour and shape of cutlery on taste.

The researchers found that when the weight of the cutlery confirms to expectations, this had an impact on how the food tastes.

- BBC.co.uk