We drink hot coffee though plastic lids.Īustralian economic sociologist Gay Hawkins and her colleagues argue lightweight, plastic water bottles have created entirely new habits, such as “ constant sipping” on the go. An aversion to the strong smell of plastic containers that once might have caused people to wrap their sandwiches before placing them in Tupperware seems to have disappeared. Plastics have also changed how we eat and drink. Plastics change the way we eat and drink. ( Shutterstock) It is so lightweight, ubiquitous and cheap we don’t notice it and pay little mind to its disposal. In contrast to heavy, fragile ceramic tableware, plastic tableware is designed to be ignored. And it’s tempting to use plastic cutlery and cups at barbecues, picnics and kids’ birthday parties. The pace of our busy lives has led many people to rely on those handy takeaways in disposable plastic food containers just ready to pop into the microwave. Research confirms we tend to eat more calories when our plates are larger, because a larger capacity plate affords a greater portion size. Now, the average dinner plate is 28cm, and many restaurant dinner plates have expanded to 30cm.
Back in her day, grandma used to serve meals on plates 25cm in diameter. Nonetheless, average plate and portion sizes have increased over the years. In a buffet, for example, people armed with a small plate may eat more because they can go back for multiple helpings. The influence of plate size on meal portions depends on the dining experience and whether you are serving yourself. Red, orange or pink is most often associated with sweetness, black with bitterness, yellow or green with sourness, and white and blue with saltiness. This association between color and taste seems to apply to people from Germany to China.Ī review of multiple studies conducted in many countries over 30 years finds people consistently associated particular colors with specific tastes. In another, a café latte served in a colored mug tasted sweeter than one in a white mug. In one study, salted popcorn eaten from a colored bowl tasted sweeter than popcorn eaten from a white bowl. The color of your mug can influence the taste of your coffee. ( Shutterstock) Colored plates can enhance flavors to actually change the dining experience. When you visit a restaurant, the chances are your dinner will be served on a plain white plate.īut French chef Sebastien Lepinoy has staff paint the plates to match the daily menu and “entice the appetite”. Affordances are how objects shape behavior for socially situated subjects.ĭesigned objects don’t make us do things.