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Advertising companies, along with food and beverage manufacturers spend a lot of time and money designing product containers and utensils that would appeal to consumers. Although the physical appearance of a product has the potential to draw in more customers, the effects of different utensils have not really been researched. Now, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford, the way food tastes can be affected by the size, shape, weight and color of the cutlery.

The researchers recruited over 100 students to participant in three experiments that studied the effects of weight, color and shape on taste. The researchers discovered that cutlery had the power to mold the way people think about their foods, leading to a change in the way the food tastes. For example, researcher found that people tend to think cheese was saltier when eaten from a knife as opposed to a fork. In terms of color, researchers found that people thought white spoons made pink yogurt tastier. On top of that, the participants stated that smaller spoons also made dessert foods taste better.

"How we experience food is a multisensory experience involving taste feel of the food in our mouths, aroma, and the feasting of our eyes," Professor Charles Spence and Dr. Vanessa Harrar said, according to BBC News. "Even before we put food into our mouths our brains have made a judgment about it, which affects our overall experience."

"Subtly changing eating implements and tableware can affect how pleasurable or filling, food appear. When serving a dish, one should keep in mind that the color of the food appears different depending on the background on which it is presented and therefore, tastes different," Harrar added according to HealthDay.

This study is not the first one to look into how cutlery affects eating moods and tastes. Previous research has found that people tend to eat less when their plates were smaller. These studies suggest that cutlery can help with managing how one eats, especially for overweight and obese people.

The findings were published in Flavour.