Colour and taste
In this activity, students investigate the belief held by scientists that colour has an influence on the taste of food. The sense of sight or vision is thought to interact with the senses of taste and smell or odour.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
appreciate that the sense of sight is linked to our perception of flavour
realise that colour gives us (and many other members of the animal kingdom) clues as to what we can expect a food to taste like
have an awareness that our brain links the colour intensity of food to the intensity of its flavour.
Salad bar
The human eye has an important role in the perception of colour, and this influences our idea of food flavour.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
what you need
what to do
student worksheet.
Related content
Sight and Taste are articles that deal with the structure and function of each of these senses – exploring some of the key science ideas and concepts.
In Sensory scientists take a brief look at the qualifications needed to work in this field and what might be expected of these scientists in the work environment.
Activity idea
In Saliva, smell and taste students look at the connection between saliva and the senses of taste and smell.
