According to the research of a University of Oxford team， our perception （感知） of how food tastes is influenced by tableware. Size， weight， shape and color of the tableware all have an effect on flavor. For example， cheese tastes saltier when eaten from a knife rather than a fork； while white spoons make yoghurt （酸奶） taste better. The study suggests the brain makes judgments on food even before it goes in the mouth.

More than 100 students took part in three experiments on the influence of weight， color and shape of tableware on taste.

They found that when the weight of the tableware conformed （與……相符） to expectations （預(yù)期；期望）， it had an impact on how the food tastes. For example， food tasted sweeter on the small spoons that are traditionally used to serve desserts.

Color was also an important factor —white yoghurt eaten from a white spoon was rated （評定；認(rèn)為） sweeter than white yoghurt tasted on a black spoon.

Similarly， when people were offered cheese on a knife， spoon， fork or toothpick， they found that the cheese from a knife tasted saltiest.

In fact， how we experience food involves （涉及） taste， aroma （食物的香味）， and the vision. Even before we put food into our mouths our brains have made a judgment about it， which affects our overall experience.

Past research has shown that tableware can change our perception （感知） of food and drink， while the new research will probe into （探討；調(diào)查） how the influences could help dieters （節(jié)食者） or restaurants. For example， people generally eat less when food is served on smaller plates.

根據(jù)牛津大學(xué)的一個研究小組的研究，我們對食物味道的感知受到了餐具的影響。餐具的大小，重量，形狀和顏色都能影響到味覺。比如說，奶酪用刀去取會比用勺子去取感覺更咸；而用白色的勺子會讓酸奶吃起來感覺味道更好。研究表明，大腦在食物到嘴里去之前就已經(jīng)對味道做出了判斷。

100多名學(xué)生參加了三個關(guān)于餐具重量、顏色和形狀對味道的影響的實(shí)驗(yàn)。

他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)餐具的重量與預(yù)期的相符時，會影響食物的口感。例如，使用傳統(tǒng)上用來吃甜點(diǎn)的小勺子會讓食物的味道感覺更甜。

顏色也是影響口感的一個重要因素——用白色的勺子吃白色的乳酪被認(rèn)為比用黑色的勺子吃起來口感更甜。

相似的是，當(dāng)給人們提供小刀，勺子，叉子或牙簽時，他們會覺得用刀切下來的奶酪味道最咸。

事實(shí)上，我們對食物的體驗(yàn)涉及味覺，食物的香味和視覺。即使是在我們把食物放進(jìn)嘴里之前，我們的大腦已經(jīng)對它做出了的判斷，從而影響我們整體的感覺。

之前的研究表明，餐具可以改變我們的食品和飲料的感知，而新的研究將去探究這種影響將如何給節(jié)食者或餐館提供幫助。比如說，用更小的盤子盛放食物的時候，人們通常會吃得更少。