The Pleasures of Color

Part 2: Taste, light, and other delights

This is part two of “My Color Pilgrimage,” a five-part series on the wonderful world of color. Read the introduction and first post here.

“People experience a great delight in color, generally. The eye requires it as much as it requires light.”
- Goethe, Theory of Colors

Color and taste

One surprising thing about color is how it influences taste. People make strong associations between color and flavor. For instance, Americans tend to rate red-colored drinks as sweeter than drinks of other colors; green drinks, more sour. When people are given flavored drinks that are the “wrong” color, they taste what they expect to taste.

The color of tableware also affects our perception. In one study, people thought coffee served in a white mug tasted less sweet than in a blue mug, and strawberry mousse tasted more delicious served on a white round plate than on a black square plate.

Occasionally, food companies use surprising colors to spark interest, as when Heinz created blue, purple, and green ketchup. But while we’re sometimes intrigued by unexpected colors, such as blood oranges, pink bananas, yellow raspberries, purple carrots, or white cranberries, we’re usually disgusted when colors seem wrong.