Eating with your mouth open would make the food tastier …

Not eating with your mouth open is a relatively common rule of courtesy throughout the West. However, what we consider a sign of respect, cleanliness and good manners could affect the flavors of what we consume. Or rather: eating with your mouth open makes things tastier.

It is eaten with the mouth, the eyes, but also the nose!

This is what Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Oxford, proposes to the British media Times : “This allows more compounds to reach the back of the nose. “

And this may seem obvious to anyone who knows a little about anatomy, smell, enology, or has taken a tea or wine tasting course.

In fact, to better taste a wine, for example, we can advise you to open your mouth and breathe in through your nose. so that some of the more volatile aromas of the infusion can reach the nasal sensors. What to inform you more about the aromatic complexity of the drink.

The same logically applies to solid foods such as fruits, vegetables, starchy foods.which are also full of “ volatile organic compounds “Explains the professor.

What if we ate more with touch or even with our ears?

The latter goes further and even advises letting go make noise while eating with your mouth, and savor with your fingers, to multiply the sensoriality of our food experience :

“Research shows that the way you feel in your hands can change or bring out some aspects of the tasting experience. “

Even if the idea holds up, it remains difficult to apply in society. But you can always retort to someone who points out that you eat with your mouth open, aloud, even with your fingers, which is for the sake of better tasting what you eat and that science supports you. Enjoy your meal !

Front page photo credit: pexels-adrienn-1537635