The Taste of Plate: How the Spiciness of Food is Affected by the Color of the Plate Used to Serve It

By focusing on a solid spicy food product and the trigeminal perception of spiciness, the present work aimed to test the effect of plate color on spiciness. Three experiments investigated the influence of color (red, yellow, green or white) on spiciness expectations (Experiment 1), the influence of color (red or white) on actual perceived spiciness (Experiment 2) and the mediation effect of spiciness expectations on the influence of color (red or white) on actual perceived spiciness (Experiment 3). Results showed that plate color exerted a significant influence on people's spiciness expectations and sense of actual perceived spiciness. In particular, the spicy bean curd presented on a red plate was perceived as significantly spicier than when presented on a green or white plate, while the spicy bean curd presented on a white plate was perceived as significantly less spicy than when presented on a red or yellow plate. Spiciness expectations significantly mediated the influence of color on actual perceived spiciness; participants expected, and consequently actually perceived, the same food product's spiciness as more intense when served on a red plate rather than on a white plate. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This research provides information on how the color characteristics of the plate on which a solid spicy food was served affected participants’ expected spiciness for that food as well as their sense of its actual perceived spiciness. This research also provides information on how participants’ sense of actual perceived spiciness was mediated by their spiciness expectations for particular color–spiciness associations. Spicy food producers as well as restaurants, bars and supermarkets could use this information to boost sales through enhancing consumers’ flavor experiences of spicy foods by more intentionally selecting and designing packaging and differentiating the color characteristics of the food products themselves to enhance their levels of expected and actual perceived spiciness.