Do YOU like green eggs and ham?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Most of us like to think we keep an open mind. BUT is it possible that we discriminate against certain FOODS purely based on their color?
Enter Dr. Jin Jang and researchers at Korea’s Ewha Woman’s University.
They presented over four hundred Korean and American consumers with five different colors of rice. Colors included yellow, white, red, black, and even GREEN! Half of the participants were also told the health benefits of that particular colored rice. Everyone completed questionnaires that analyzed what emotions they associated with rice color.
The results BLUE my mind! People associated words like “strange” and “disgusted” with rice colors not commonly eaten by their own nationality. However, providing a description of the health benefits DECREASED these negative reactions!
It’s CYAN-tifically proven that people prefer the colored foods they’re familiar with!
But a little info goes a long way and can help make our diet more colorful!
I DO like green eggs and ham – thank you, Sam-I-Am!
Reference: Jang, Jin A., Ji Eun Oh, Yeseul Na, Ga Eun Yeo, and Mi Sook Cho. “Emotions Evoked by Colors and Health Functionality Information of Colored Rice: A Cross-Cultural Study.” Foods 10, no. 2 (February 2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020231.
Photo credit: Image by Marco Verch Professional Photographer (flickr.com)