I think we can all agree that there is something really satisfying about biting down on a potato chip or an extra crispy piece of bacon—unless you're actively trying to be polite and have to chew silently.
According to a new report in the journal Flavour, there's a scientific reason that we inherently like noisy foods. The report's author, professor Charles Spence, believes that people unconsciously judge foods by the sounds they make. Spence calls food sounds "the forgotten flavor sense."
For the most part, people associate the way a foods sounds with its quality, says Spence. We assume that a louder food is a better product. With fruits and vegetables, for example, we associate noise—like the crunch of an apple or a carrot—to its freshness, which makes us like it more. Even noisy sodas are more appealing: Spence believes the more fizzy, bubbly sounds it makes, the more likely people will give it a higher flavor rating.
Do you pay attention to how foods sound? Tell us in the comments!
[TIME]
