--- title: The Shape and Sound of a Perfect Meal description: A truly great meal is about so much more than the flavors that touch our tongues--including the napkins, the lighting, the company we're with. In... canonical: https://time.com/4856243/the-shape-and-sound-of-a-perfect-meal/ author: Lucy Feldman article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-13T10:55:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:32:31.890Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Shape and Sound of a Perfect Meal og:description: A truly great meal is about so much more than the flavors that touch our tongues--including the napkins, the lighting, the company we're with. In... og:url: https://time.com/4856243/the-shape-and-sound-of-a-perfect-meal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5dbdec7c552fe91/6988d573fb4eacfed7892e06/gastrophysics-the-new-science-of-eating.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3857 og:image:height: 2170 og:image:alt: gastrophysics-the-new-science-of-eating og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Shape and Sound of a Perfect Meal twitter:description: A truly great meal is about so much more than the flavors that touch our tongues--including the napkins, the lighting, the company we're with. In... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte5dbdec7c552fe91/6988d573fb4eacfed7892e06/gastrophysics-the-new-science-of-eating.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Shape and Sound of a Perfect Meal > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=501b2444-8c9c-419b-898d-d5c6330871af&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1)  by [Lucy Feldman](https://time.com/author/lucy-feldman/)  ## Lucy Feldman Editorial Director Jul 13, 2017 10:55 AM UTC   by [Lucy Feldman](https://time.com/author/lucy-feldman/)  ## Lucy Feldman Editorial Director Jul 13, 2017 10:55 AM UTC A truly great meal is about so much more than the flavors that touch our tongues–including the napkins, the lighting, the company we’re with. In _Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating_, University of Oxford psychology professor Charles Spence examines the way our five senses, as well as our emotional states and expectations, influence how we experience food. Drawing on his own research and others’, Spence offers simple adjustments that can enhance dining pleasure. Decorate your surroundings. The secret ingredient to your signature lasagna can be how you set the table. When researchers set up two dining areas–one with Italian posters and checkered tablecloths, and one with white tablecloths and plain walls–patrons in the decorated setting judged the pasta dishes to be more authentically Italian than those in the neutral setting. Cue sweetness with shape. Chocolate maker Cadbury faced complaints when it changed the shape of its Dairy Milk bar from rectangles to rounds in 2013–not because of the look, but because the new treats were too sweet. But the company hadn’t altered the recipe; consumers just thought it had, because we perceive food presented in round shapes (whether a candy bar, beetroot jelly or chocolate shavings on a latte) to be sweeter than angular shapes. Pop the lid off your coffee. In order to fully experience your food–including a jolt of java–you need to smell as well as taste it. The lid on a to-go cup of coffee puts a barrier between that invigorating fresh-ground scent and the part of your brain that forms expectations of what you’re about to enjoy. Without what’s called orthonasal information, your coffee may taste the same way it does when you have a cold–weak. Listen. Spence calls sound “the forgotten flavor sense” and says it is essential to a pleasurable dining experience. He found that, for instance, enhancing the sound of a potato-chip crunch impacted its perceived freshness. Some suggestions to add crunch in Gastrophysics: sprinkle croutons or toasted seeds over a salad just before serving. 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