Why do people choose the foods they do? This is a very complex question. As you can see from this list, many factors influence what you eat.
• Flavor
• Other aspects of food (such as cost, convenience, nutrition)
• Demographics
• Culture and religion
• Health
• Social and emotional influences
• Food industry and the media
• Environmental concerns
Now we will look at these factors in depth.
FLAVOR
An attribute of a food that includes its appearance, smell, taste, feel in the mouth, texture, temperature, and even the sounds made when it is chewed.
The most important consideration when choosing something to eat is the taste of the food. You may think that taste and flavor are the same thing, but taste is actually a component of flavor. Flavor is an attribute of a food that includes its taste, smell, feel in the mouth, texture, temperature, and even the sounds made when it is chewed. Flavor is a combination of all five senses: taste, smell, touch, sight, and sound.
TASTE
Sensations perceived by the taste buds on the tongue.
TASTE BUDS
Clusters of cells found on the tongue, cheeks, throat, and roof of the mouth. Each taste bud houses 60 to 100 receptor cells. The body regenerates taste buds about every three days. These cells bind food molecules dissolved in saliva and alert the brain to interpret them.
Taste comes from 10,000 taste buds—clusters of cells that resemble the sections of an orange. Taste buds, found on the tongue, cheeks, throat, and roof of the mouth, house 60 to 100 receptor cells each. The body regenerates taste buds about every three days.
These taste cells bind food molecules dissolved in saliva and alert the brain to interpret them. Although the tongue is often depicted as having regions that specialize in particular taste sensations—for example, the tip is said to detect sweetness—researchers know that taste buds for each sensation (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami) are actually scattered around the tongue. In fact, a single taste bud can have receptors for all five sensations. We also know that the back of the tongue is more sensitive to bitter, and that food temperature influences taste.
Taste buds are most numerous in children under age six, and this may explain why youngsters are such picky eaters. Children generally prefer higher levels of sweetness and saltiness in their food than adults do. This will change in adolescence, when their taste preferences become more like those of adults. Children will also develop food preferences that reflect their culture. For instance, in many Asian cultures, combining sweet and umami is common, whereas this would not be common in the United States. Cultural food preferences often adapt when people relocate into another culture.
Umami, the fifth basic taste, differs from the traditional sweet, sour, salty, and bitter tastes by providing a savory, sometimes meaty, sensation. Umami is a Japanese word and the taste is evident in many Japanese ingredients and flavorings, such as seaweed, dashi stock, and mushrooms, as well as other foods. The umami taste receptor is very sensitive to glutamate, which occurs naturally in foods such as meat, fish, and milk, and it is often added to processed foods in the form of the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG). Despite the frequent description of umami as meaty, many foods, including mushrooms, tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese, have a higher level of glutamate than an equal amount of beef or pork. This explains why foods that are cooked with mushrooms or tomatoes seem to have a fuller, rounder taste than when cooked alone.
If you could taste only sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami, how could you taste the flavor of cinnamon, chicken, or any other food? This is where smell comes in. Your ability to identify the flavors of specific foods requires smell.
The ability to detect the strong scent of a fish market, the antiseptic odor of a hospital, the aroma of a ripe melon, and thousands of other smells is possible thanks to a yellowish patch of tissue the size of a quarter high up in your nose. This patch is actually a layer of 12 million specialized cells, each sporting 10 to 20 hairlike growths called cilia that bind with the smell and send a message to the brain. Our sense of smell may not be as refined as that of dogs, which have billions of olfactory cells, but we can distinguish among about 10,000 scents.
Of course, if you have a bad cold and mucus clogs up your nose, you lose some sense of smell and taste. With a cold, you can still taste salty and sweet, but you will have a hard time distinguishing the difference between flavors, such as beef from lamb.
You can smell foods in two ways. If you smell coffee brewing while you are getting dressed, you smell it directly through your nose. But if you are drinking coffee, the smell of the coffee goes to the back of your mouth and then up into your nose. To some extent, what you smell (or taste) is determined by your genetics and also your age.
All foods have texture, a natural texture granted by Mother Nature. It may be coarse or fine, rough or smooth, tender or tough. Whichever the texture, it influences whether you like the food. The natural texture of a food may not be the most desirable texture for a finished dish, and so a cook may create different texture. For example, a fresh apple may be too crunchy to serve at dinner, and so it is baked or sautéed for a softer texture. Or a cream soup may be too thin, and so a thickening agent is used to increase the viscosity of the soup or, simply stated, make it harder to pour.
Food appearance or presentation strongly influences which foods you choose to eat. Eye appeal is the purpose of food presentation, whether the food is hot or cold. It is especially important for cold foods because they lack the come-on of an appetizing aroma. Just the sight of something delicious to eat can start your digestive juices flowing.
OTHER ASPECTS OF FOOD
Food cost is a major consideration. For example, breakfast cereals were inexpensive for many years. Then their prices jumped, and it seemed that most boxes of cereal cost over $3.00. Some consumers switched from cereal to bacon and eggs because the bacon and eggs became less expensive. Cost is a factor in many purchasing decisions at the supermarket, whether one is buying dry beans at $0.69 per pound or fresh salmon at $13.99 per pound.
Convenience is more of a concern now than at any time in the past because of the lack of time to prepare meals. Just think about the variety of foods you can purchase today that are already cooked and can simply be microwaved. Even if you desire fresh fruits and vegetables, supermarkets offer them already cut up and ready to eat. Of course, convenience foods are more expensive than their raw counterparts, and not every budget can afford them. Take-out meals are also more expensive, but common in certain households.
Everyone’s food choices are affected by availability and familiarity. Whether it is a wide choice of foods at an upscale supermarket or a choice of only two restaurants within walking distance of where you work, you can eat only what is available. The availability of foods is very much influenced by the way food is produced and distributed. For example, the increasing number of soft drink vending machines, particularly in schools and workplaces, has contributed to increasing soft drink consumption year-round. Fresh fruits and vegetables are perfect examples of foods that are most available (and at their lowest prices) when in season. Of course, you are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables, or any food for that matter, with which you are familiar and which you have eaten before.
The nutritional content of a food can be an important factor in deciding what to eat. You probably have watched people reading nutritional labels on a food package, or perhaps you have read nutritional labels yourself. Current estimates show that about 75 percent of Americans use nutrition information labels. Older people tend to read labels more often than younger people do.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Demographic factors that influence food choices include age, gender, educational level, income, and cultural background. Women and older adults tend to consider nutrition more often than do men or young adults when choosing what to eat. Older adults are probably more nutrition-minded because they have more health problems, such as heart disease and high blood pressure, and are more likely to have to change their diet for health reasons. Older adults also have more concerns with poor dental health, swallowing problems, and digestive problems. People with higher incomes and educational levels tend to think about nutrition more often when choosing what to eat.
CULTURE AND RELIGION
Culture can be defined as the behaviors and beliefs of a certain social, ethnic, or age group. A culture strongly influences the eating habits of its members. Each culture has norms about which foods are edible, which foods have high or low status, how often foods are consumed, what foods are eaten together, when foods are eaten, and what foods are served at special events and celebrations (such as weddings).
In short, your culture influences your attitudes toward and beliefs about food. For example, some French people eat horsemeat, but Americans do not consider horsemeat acceptable to eat. Likewise, many common American practices seem strange or illogical to persons from other cultures. For example, what could be more unusual than boiling water to make tea and adding ice to make it cold again, sugar to sweeten it, and then lemon to make it tart? When immigrants come to live in the United States, their eating habits gradually change, but they are among the last habits to adapt to the new culture.
For many people, religion affects their day-to-day food choices. For example, many Jewish people abide by the Jewish dietary laws, called the Kashrut. They do not eat pork, nor do they eat meat and dairy products together. Muslims also have their own dietary laws. Like Jews, they will not eat pork. Their religion also prohibits drinking alcoholic beverages. For other people, religion influences what they eat mostly during religious holidays and celebrations. Religious holidays such as Passover are observed with appropriate foods.
Judaism - Dietary Practices
Kashrut: Jewish dietary law of keeping kosher.
1. Meat and poultry. Permitted: Meat of animals with a split hoof that chew their cud (includes cattle, sheep, goats, deer); a specific list of birds (includes chicken, turkey, goose, pheasant, duck). Not permitted: Pig and pork products, mammals that don’t have split hooves and chew their cud (such as rabbit), birds not specified (such as ostrich). All animals require ritual slaughtering. All meat and poultry foods must be free of blood, which is done by soaking and salting the food or by broiling it. Forequarter cuts of mammals are also not eaten.
2. Fish. Permitted: Fish with fins and scales. Not permitted: Shellfish (scallops, oysters, clams), crustaceans (crab, shrimp, lobster), fishlike mammals (dolphin, whale), frog, shark, eel. Do not cook fish with meat or poultry.
3. Meat and dairy are not eaten or prepared together. Meals are dairy or meat, not both. It is also necessary to have two sets of cooking equipment, dishes, and silverware for dairy and meat.
4. All fruits, vegetables, grains, and eggs can be served with dairy or meat meals.
5. A processed food is considered kosher only if the package has a rabbinical authority’s name or insignia.
Roman Catholicism - Dietary Practices
1. Abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent (the 40 days before Easter).
2. Fast (one meal is allowed) and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday (beginning of Lent) and Good Friday (the Friday before Easter).
Eastern Orthodox Christianity - Dietary Practices
Numerous feast days and fast days. On fast days, no fish, meat, or other animal products (including dairy products) are allowed. They also abstain from wine and oil, except for certain feast days that may fall during a fasting period. Shellfish are allowed. Wednesdays and Fridays are also fast days throughout the year.
Protestantism - Dietary Practices
1. Food on religious holidays is largely determined by a family’s cultural background and preferences.
2. Fasting is uncommon.
Mormonism - Dietary Practices
1. Prohibit tea, coffee, and alcohol. Some Mormons abstain from anything containing caffeine.
2. Eat only small amounts of meat and base diet on grains.
3. Some Mormons fast once a month.
Seventh-Day Adventist Church - Dietary Practices
1. Many members are lacto-ovo vegetarians (eat dairy products and eggs but no meat or poultry).
2. Avoid pork and shellfish.
3. Prohibit coffee, tea, and alcohol.
4. Drink water before and after meals, not during.
5. Avoid highly seasoned foods and eating between meals.
Islam - Dietary Practices
1. All foods are permitted (halal) except for swine (pigs), four-legged animals that catch prey with the mouth, birds of prey that grab prey with their claws, animals (except fish and seafood) that have not been slaughtered according to ritual, and alcoholic beverages. Use of coffee and tea is discouraged.
2. Celebrate many feast and fast days. On fast days, they do not eat or drink from sunup to sundown.
Hinduism - Dietary Practices
1. Encourages eating in moderation.
2. Meat is allowed, but the cow is sacred and is not eaten. Also avoided are pork and certain fish. Many Hindus are vegetarian.
3. Many Hindus avoid garlic, onions, mushrooms, and red foods such as tomatoes.
4. Water is taken with meals.
5. Some Hindus abstain from alcohol.
6. Hindus have a number of feast and fast days.
Buddhism - Dietary Practices
1. Dietary laws vary depending on the country and the sect. Many Buddhists do not believe in taking life, and so they are lacto-ovo vegetarians (eat dairy products and eggs but no meat or poultry).
2. Celebrate feast and fast days.
HEALTH
Have you ever dieted to lose weight? Most Americans are trying to lose weight or keep from gaining it. You probably know that obesity and overweight can increase your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems. What you eat influences your health. Even if you are healthy, you may base food choices on a desire to prevent health problems and/or improve your appearance.
A knowledge of nutrition and a positive attitude toward nutrition may translate into nutritious eating practices. Just knowing that eating lots of fruits and vegetables may prevent heart disease does not mean that someone will automatically start eating more of those foods. For some people, knowledge is enough to stimulate new eating behaviors, but for most people, knowledge is not enough and change is difficult. Many circumstances and beliefs prevent change, such as a lack of time or money to eat right. But some people manage to change their eating habits, especially if they feel that the advantages (such as losing weight or preventing cancer) outweigh the disadvantages.
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL INFLUENCES
People have historically eaten meals together, making meals important social occasions. Our food choices are influenced by the social situations we find ourselves in, whether in the comfort of our own home or eating out in a restaurant. For example, social influences are involved when several members of a group of college friends are vegetarian. Peer pressure no doubt influences many food choices among children and young adults. Even as adults, we tend to eat the same foods that our friends and neighbors eat. This is due to cultural influences as well.
Food is often used to convey social status. For example, in a trendy, upscale New York City restaurant, you will find prime cuts of beef and high-priced wine.
Emotions are closely tied to some of our food selections. As a child, you may have been given something sweet to eat, such as cake or candy, whenever you were unhappy or upset. As an adult, you may gravitate to those kinds of foods, called comfort foods, when under stress. Carbohydrates, such as in cake or candy, tend have calming effects. Eating in response to emotions can lead to overeating and overweight.
FOOD INDUSTRY AND THE MEDIA
The food industry very much influences what you choose to eat. After all, the food companies decide what foods to produce and where to sell them. They also use advertising, product labeling and displays, information provided by their consumer services departments, and websites to sell their products.
On a daily basis, the media (television, newspapers, magazines, radio, and the like) portray food in many ways: paid advertisements, articles on food in magazines and newspapers, and foods eaten on television shows. Much research has been done on the impact of television food commercials on children. Quite often the commercials succeed in getting children to eat foods such as cookies, candies, and fast food. Television commercials probably are contributing to higher calorie and fat intakes.
The media also report frequently on new studies related to food, nutrition, and health topics. It is hard to avoid hearing sound bites such as “more fruits and vegetables lower blood pressure.” Media reports can certainly influence which foods people eat.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Some people have environmental concerns, such as the use of chemical pesticides, and so they often, or always, choose organically grown foods (which are grown without such chemicals. Many vegetarians won’t eat meat or chicken because livestock and poultry require so much land, energy, water, and plant food, which they consider wasteful.
Now that you have a better understanding of why we eat the foods we do, we can look at some basic nutrition concepts and terms.
Written by Karen Eich Drummond and Lisa M. Brefere in "Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals", Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, USA, 2010, chapter 1, pp. 3-8. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.