Textured Spoons
As we know, the tongue possesses a unique taste topography in which different sectors register different kinds of taste. In many cases, those sectors can be influenced in the degree to which they respond to food and register a taste sensation through the texture of the object they touch. The Textured Spoons are an experiment in which the underside of the food carrying object is textured to vary the taste of the food it bears.
The textures are aggressive and vary over a broad range, from wood bark, the round shape of caviar, the silky surface of pudding, the medium roughness of toasted bread or the sharp angular texture of crispy noodles. Meanwhile, the texture and consistency of the food they carried was purposefully distinct from that of the spoon to examine whether odd taste sensations would emerge from the practice of eating from spoons with a textured underbelly. The spoons were made of plastic to avoid the inevitable taste sensation of metal on skin.
The caviar spoon, holding scrambled eggs - tended to taste sweeter
The tree bark spoon, holding grilled steak - tended to taste salty
The crispy noodle spoon, holding cold chicken salad - tended to taste salty, bitter and sweet
The butter/pudding spoon, holding chocolate cake - tended to taste mildly salty
The rock face spoon, holding funnel cake - tended to taste salty and bitter
the spike spoon, holding glazed fried chicken - tended to taste extremely bitter and salty
As we know, the tongue possesses a unique taste topography in which different sectors register different kinds of taste. In many cases, those sectors can be influenced in the degree to which they respond to food and register a taste sensation through the texture of the object they touch. The Textured Spoons are an experiment in which the underside of the food carrying object is textured to vary the taste of the food it bears.
The textures are aggressive and vary over a broad range, from wood bark, the round shape of caviar, the silky surface of pudding, the medium roughness of toasted bread or the sharp angular texture of crispy noodles. Meanwhile, the texture and consistency of the food they carried was purposefully distinct from that of the spoon to examine whether odd taste sensations would emerge from the practice of eating from spoons with a textured underbelly. The spoons were made of plastic to avoid the inevitable taste sensation of metal on skin.
The caviar spoon, holding scrambled eggs - tended to taste sweeter
The tree bark spoon, holding grilled steak - tended to taste salty
The crispy noodle spoon, holding cold chicken salad - tended to taste salty, bitter and sweet
The butter/pudding spoon, holding chocolate cake - tended to taste mildly salty
The rock face spoon, holding funnel cake - tended to taste salty and bitter
the spike spoon, holding glazed fried chicken - tended to taste extremely bitter and salty
As we know, the tongue possesses a unique taste topography in which different sectors register different kinds of taste. In many cases, those sectors can be influenced in the degree to which they respond to food and register a taste sensation through the texture of the object they touch. The Textured Spoons are an experiment in which the underside of the food carrying object is textured to vary the taste of the food it bears.
The textures are aggressive and vary over a broad range, from wood bark, the round shape of caviar, the silky surface of pudding, the medium roughness of toasted bread or the sharp angular texture of crispy noodles. Meanwhile, the texture and consistency of the food they carried was purposefully distinct from that of the spoon to examine whether odd taste sensations would emerge from the practice of eating from spoons with a textured underbelly. The spoons were made of plastic to avoid the inevitable taste sensation of metal on skin.
The caviar spoon, holding scrambled eggs - tended to taste sweeter
The tree bark spoon, holding grilled steak - tended to taste salty
The crispy noodle spoon, holding cold chicken salad - tended to taste salty, bitter and sweet
The butter/pudding spoon, holding chocolate cake - tended to taste mildly salty
The rock face spoon, holding funnel cake - tended to taste salty and bitter
the spike spoon, holding glazed fried chicken - tended to taste extremely bitter and salty