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The Times has an interesting article today (firewall) drawn on a piece of research in the Flavour journal.

The basic thrust of it is that the colour of cutlery changes the way that food tastes. Or rather, it changes the way in which we perceive how food tastes.

Blue spoons taste salty

Boffins from Oxford University looked at the effect which different coloured cutlery had on the way people taste yoghurt. According to their research, black spoons made yoghurt taste cheaper; blue spoons made it taste saltier and white spoons made it seem sweeter.

It might sound like piffle but it’s not a new idea. Restaurants have long used differently shaped and coloured plates to present and enhance different dishes. I don’t just mean putting soup in a bowl.

Champagne

Wine fans have long realised that differently shaped glasses suit different wines. Champagne flutes allow the drinker to appreciate the rising bubbles while glasses with deep, wide bowls are better for capturing the aroma of red wine than narrow, shallow glasses.

Some manufacturers, such as Riedel, even make glasses designed to deliver wine to different parts of the tongue in different ways.

Blumenspoon

It will come as no surprise that the Oxford University research team is working with Heston Blumenthal to design a spoon which is split in two. The aim is to create a spoon which can deliver different tastes one after the other in the same mouthful.

It may be a while but who knows? One day, we may all be eating from a bifurcated spoon or selecting differently coloured cutlery to eat different meals.

While gastronauts may celebrate the arrival of the new school spoon, Private Eye is bound to have a field day with this. Any bets on them reviving their ‘Me and my spoon’ column?