Value of the Aesthetic Appeal of Food

Looks good enough to eat!

Do you judge a dish by its appearance? Would you eat more or less, feel more satiated or less, if the food is aesthetically appealing? How significantly does the color, arrangement, texture impact your eating habits? 

There is some evidence to suggest that the choices we make about how we eat determines what we eat, thereby making us conscious of what and how much we consume. I decided to offer a poll on this question to see how many people on the vine value this aspect of eating. 

When we invite friends over to dinner, we take the trouble to decorate the table, and serve the food in a style of our choosing. Of course, it is important to pay attention to the quality of the cooking, but then poorly cooked food will not look very appetizing anyway. Nothing pleases a host or hostess more than seeing the guests look charmed with the presentation and the dishes. The truth is also that, if the table and everything on it looks alluring, the guests will enjoy the offerings with relish. That is the whole point, isn't it?

I have a Chinese friend whose husband is a fabulous chef by hobby and the family cook. While she cooks with her eye on the clock, he spends time poring over every aspect of cooking and presenting, even at family dinner time. She tells me how laboriously her husband chops every vegetable in different shapes, folding leafy ones precisely, lays out all the ingredients in exactly the right order, and gets to work cooking dinner, almost every night. When the cooking is complete, he slices the meat perfectly, arranges each and every dish attractively on a plate, and only then is the family permitted to begin the meal. My friend tells me that in the Southern part of China which is where her husband comes from, food is an art and a skill. In the North, however, where she hails from, it is all about the taste and no one pays any attention to the appearance. 

We are all different. The French have their style, the Italians theirs, the Japanese are wonderfully skilled in artful presentation of food, and the Americans, well, let's just say, "dig in" on a daily basis. But then, would any of us mind if someone in our family took time and trouble over creating art you can eat? It is even said that eating daintily, or creatively, improves our eating habits, and if we take time over it, we actually eat less and better. That is quite possibly the reason why in countries where food is central to the culture, where time is spent preparing and savoring it, people are slimmer, fitter and healthier. Here in the US, we are always dashing somewhere, to a baseball game, to drop off and pick up kids or grand kids, always rushed, and gorging ourselves with whatever comes to hand. And despite all the sports we play, the gym memberships we have, the running, the walking, the jogging, obesity continues to plague the health of so many Americans, children and adults alike. 

Maybe we need to slow down. Life is short. We eat three times a day, so why not learn to enjoy it? It doesn't take a lot of time if you set the table for the family with maybe a candle or two, or some flowers in a vase, serve whatever has been cooked with a dash of style and color, in small amounts with seconds readily available, of course. A few simple touches of personality, of warmth, a splash of decor can transform even a simple meal of macaroni and cheese, or spaghetti and meatballs to something much more enjoyable, and perhaps make us healthier in the long run.