Enjoying your meal is about more than just taste, which, after all, comes after the initial sensation of actually seeing it.
A popular saying claims that we eat with our eyes too, so Bored Panda decided to test the validity of this phrase and put together a collection of oddly satisfying food pictures.
From a pristine McDonald's hamburger bun to a symmetrical striped cake, continue scrolling to participate in our "study" and see if the images are enough to make your stomach growl. Bon appétit.
#1 A Koi Pond Mousse Cake For Father’s Day. Everything On The Cake Is Edible
Image credits: petrichoro
#2 Due To Depression At The Time I Never Posted One Of My Most Beautiful Loaves I've Ever Baked: Pumpkin
Image credits: JimmyMus
If the photos, for some reason, aren't enough and you still need more proof that the way a chef plates and presents their food has a big impact on the guest's experience, consider this experiment from Oxford psychologist, Professor Charles Spence.
Inspired by Wassily Kandinsky's 'Painting Number 201', the Franco-Columbian chef and fellow co-author of the study Charles Michel designed a salad resembling the abstract artwork.
#3 This Peacock Cake And Cupcakes
Image credits: Malizzi Cakes
#4 I Made An Apple Tart For Christmas And Wanted People To See It
Image credits: emkay95
#5 Perfectly Executed Cranberry Tart
Image credits: beekay90
"A number of chefs now are realising that they are being judged by how their foods photograph – be it in the fancy cookbooks [or], more often than not, when diners Instagram their friends," Professor Spence explained.
Thirty men and thirty women were each presented with one of three salads containing identical ingredients, arranged either to resemble the Kandinsky painting, a regular tossed salad, or a "neat" formation where each component was spaced away from the others.
#6 My First Striped Cake. Pineapple Cake With Elderflower Buttercream
Image credits: BakedExp
#7 Got My First Tart Pan Recently. White Chocolate And Cranberry Tart
Image credits: f4cev4lue
#8 I'm In Pastry School And We Made Croissants Last Week
Image credits: uniqueartist97
#9 Homemade Ravioli With Pressed Flowers And Dill
Image credits: itssjulss
Seated alone at a table mimicking a restaurant setting, and unaware that other versions of the salad were on offer, each participant was given two questionnaires asking them to rate various aspects of the meal on a scale of 1 to 10, both before and after digging in.
#10 Christmas Cake I Made For A Holiday Baking Competition At My Office
Image credits: DolphinGirlLJ
#11 First Attempt At Making Cedric Grolet's Apple Tart. It's Not Perfect, But I'm Really Proud
Image credits: luax14
#12 I Call Them "Snookies" (Snail Cookies)
Image credits: stirphanie
#13 Sushi That’s Almost Too Perfect To Eat
Image credits: JD_1925
Before the participants of the study sampled their plateful, the Kandinsky-inspired dish was rated higher for complexity, artistic presentation and general liking. Participants were prepared to pay twice as much for the meal as for either the regular or "neat arrangements."
After finishing off their portion, participants also rated the Kandinsky-esque salad higher for "tastiness," despite it receiving similar ratings to the other salads for the four basic components of taste: salty, bitter, sweet, and sour.
#14 Homemade Charcuterie Board
Image credits: United-Management958
#15 I Made A Strawberry Vanilla Crepe Cake For My Mom
Image credits: TheCroatianCookie
#16 My Friend Let Her Chickens Loose On A Watermelon. They Picked It Clean
Image credits: 6295
#17 Homemade Sugar Cookies With Royal Icing
Image credits: binkkzz
Of course, teasing apart exactly which aspect of the salads' presentation affected how much participants were willing to pay for a dish, and their perception of its "tastiness," is a tricky endeavor.
But the authors of the study suggest that the perceived effort involved in preparing the plate and its aesthetic appeal could be among the factors influencing participants.
#18 My Cake I Just Popped Out Of The Cake Tin Did Not Break At All. Feels Good
Image credits: RealMeggarra
#19 Satisfying Japanese Soft Serve
Image credits: PrincessZaiross
#20 My Wife's First Attempt At A Charcuterie Board. How'd She Do?
Image credits: dylanspencer11
#21 Sourdough Baguette
Image credits: chikara27
To put it simply, expectations were raised [with the Kandinsky-eque salad] and that led to the willingness to spend more and to an increased experience during consumption. The presentation of a dish can excite us and make us more present during the course.
If you want to continue with testing this theory, fire up our older publication 169 Oddly Satisfying Food Photos That We Can’t Stop Looking At.
#22 I Made These Little Cheeseburger Macarons Filled With Homemade Chocolate Ganache
Image credits: DomesticatedAnarchy
#23 Put Cream In The Mug First, And My Coffee Maker Created This Visible Color Gradient
Image credits: now_in3D
#24 Natural Honeycomb
Image credits: Proteon
#25 Cranberry Curd Tart In A Gingerbread Crust
Image credits: Suitable-Concert
#26 Homemade Snoopy Chicken Curry
Image credits: oceansunfish17
#27 My Latte Art Bear
Image credits: Signal_Missing
#28 Homemade Peppermint Macarons
Image credits: AURA_MephiIes
#29 Homemade Chocolate Butter Croissant
Image credits: input36
#30 Here's A Cornucopia I Made Out Of Bread For Thanksgiving
Image credits: 123comicbro
#31 Perfectly Assembled Sprinkles
Image credits: pokeaim
#32 First Chocolate Tart
Image credits: Extrafluffymeowloaf
#33 Focaccia Bread Out Of The Oven, Per Request
Image credits: havkson
#34 This Flawless Yellow Onion
Image credits: Videowulff
#35 My Mom Was So Sad When My Grandmother Passed Away Cause She Would Miss Her Cheesecake, So For The Last 7 Years, I Have Been Making Her One Every Year For Christmas
Image credits: skydivesre
#36 The Most Perfect Loaf Of Bread I’ve Ever Made
Image credits: _grumpycat1
#37 Cream Cheese Bread Turned Out So Good
Image credits: YohoPlanet
#38 My Sourdough Bread
Image credits: naxotech
#39 Dessert For A Family Gathering Last Weekend
Image credits: Pale-Assistant-9561
#40 The Way My Sister Decorated This Tiramisu
Image credits: Communist_Ravioli
#41 This Freshly Baked Croissant
Image credits: Kummunista
#42 Homemade Ratatouille, Hand-Cut
Image credits: bardezart
#43 Amazing Curry Platter
Image credits: marumasala
#44 Homemade Orange-Vanilla Madeleines
Image credits: atashifutoidesu
#45 This Perfect Pudding
Image credits: Babythoven
#46 Homemade Sourdough Blueberry Croissant
Image credits: That0neBelgian
#47 How This Frozen Diet Pepsi Exploded
Image credits: iBleeedorange
#48 This Perfectly Ripe, Tiny Seed Avocado
Image credits: reddit.com
#49 Just Made A Batch Of Caramels And After Cutting Them I Had An Oddly Satisfying Moment
Image credits: MarlyMonster
#50 The Spaghetti Arranging Itself In My Pan
Image credits: NelsonMinar
