Título: "Eating with Your Eyes First": Cross-Cultural Evaluation of Visual Expectations Generated by High-End Pastry
Autor: Alba-Martínez, José; Rodrigues de Sousa, Pedro M.; Martínez-Monzó, Javier; Cunha, Luis M.; García-Segovia, Purificación
Resumen: [EN] Chefs often say, "You eat with your eyes first?" This means that, while taste, smell, and
vision are distinct senses, visual stimuli generate expectations through learned associations, and these
expectations exert cognitive top¿down influences that can and sometimes do alter assessments of
taste and flavour. This study investigates the intangible values associated with the visual assessment
of high-end pastry cakes among individuals from diverse food cultures. Using word association, the
study explored the emotions, sensations, and impressions evoked by the visual representation of five
high-end pastry cakes. Thematic content analysis was conducted to interpret and group the evoked
words into dimensions. Across all cultures, ¿Organoleptic properties¿ emerged as the most highly
rated dimension, aligning with expectations for food product visual assessments.
