Thursday, June 4, 2009

Getting the Full Flavor Experience from your Food

So, I was talking to a friend the other day, and she told me that there's this expensive restaurant (in LA?) where you eat in the dark. It's all finger foods so you don't have to try to use utensils in the dark. And you can't talk. And it's WAY expensive. ...why? You may ask. Because the food tastes amazing. Most especially so because it's in the dark. The thing is that when you close down one sense, the others become more acute. Thus, by shutting down sight (you can't even see your hand in front of your face there) and minimizing hearing, your sense of taste is magnified. (I think that's why people close their eyes when they kiss) Plus, there's nothing to distract you, so you concentrate on tasting your food, instead of the conversation or a zillion thoughts in your head.

And I realized that I hardly ever think about tasting my food. Really enjoying it. If I'm like eating breakfast alone, I'm usually reading at the same time. Lunch is on the run--not thinking about tasting my food, thinking about inhaling it so that I can do something else. Dinner is with the family--thinking about the conversation. So I never concentrate on tasting.

My friend also pointed out that when you are focused on something else while eating, your brain never receives the "I'm full" message. Which is why you can eat so many ______ while watching t.v. or doing your homework. You never feel full because you were never telling your brain that you were eating in the first place. So in addition to being a full flavor experience, tasting your food is also more healthy. Cool, huh?

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