It is well proven that a difference in what you expect and what you experience can greatly alter your perceptions and experiences.
To put this to the test, internationally-renowned chef Heston Blumenthal conducted a taste test with the help of the Sussex Ingestion Pattern Monitor (SIPM) team, who are currently working with SInC. Volunteers were presented with a smooth, peach-coloured ice cream. Some of the group were told it was ‘ice-cream’, the others were told that it was a ‘frozen savoury mousse’.
Volunteers told that it was ‘ice cream’ rated the mystery food as disgusting and inedible. The group told it was ‘frozen savoury mousse’ found the food to be edible and some even enjoyed it! The reason: they were eating smoked-salmon ice cream. The volunteers had an expectation of what they were about to taste, which in the case of the group told it was ice cream, was inaccurate. This study gives a fantastic insight into human perceptions. Full story here.
