Appetizers and Mains: A Tangled Relationship

[Alex]

"Perceptual set" is a predisposition to interpret one's current  perceptions in a particular way, based on experience, expectations, or context. Perhaps the best-know example in the food and beverage world are the studies showing how expectation (based on price, red vs. white, etc.) can affect one's judgment of a wine's quality.

 

One example of perceptual set is "perceptual contrast." This is our tendency to interpret a current experience in comparison to a similar recent experience rather than independently. For example, a $75 tie might seem expensive if that's what you looked at first, but after buying a $1200 suit, it doesn't seem quite so pricy. Or if I'm trying to get you to volunteer for some committee work, I might first ask you for a huge commitment, then scale back my request. Or perhaps this is one reason why people get involved in unwise rebound relationships -- if the previous one ended badly, a new person might seem more appealing than s/he would have otherwise.

 

A recent study demonstrated that the tastiness of an appetizer may well influence how tasty we perceive the next dish to be.

 

 

“Given that Western – and particularly American – meal structures commonly involve appetizers that are meant to pique the appetite as ‘overtures’ to the main course,” they write, “this result is important: too much difference in quality – too much piquing – can lead to reduced enjoyment of the main course.”

 

This was a two-group study, with the independent variable a highly rated bruschetta app vs. a mediocre one; the dependent variable was the rating of the "main course," a middling-rated pasta aglio e olio. The one weakness in this study was that the researchers didn't investigate whether a main course that in the initial stage of research was rated very high or very low would minimize or eliminate the influence of the app.

[Deryn]

I can vouch (from personal experience) for the fact that plating (or even just a mix of vibrant colours on the plate) often makes a big difference to the perception of taste and expectations that the next course will be as good or even better than the last. A good appetizer/first course has often worked in my favour when I know the rest of the meal (or just the next course) was not up to the standards I would have liked.

 

So, while that article was interesting and I 'get' what they are saying, I don't think it always holds true. Expectations of the cook (based on prior experience or reputation), the restaurant/home and other circumstances surrounding the whole meal (probably including how much wine people have had before that main course arrives! and is it a casual barbeque with family or a formal dinner at the White House) may not make this always the case 'in real life'.

Edited June 28, 2015 by Deryn (log)

[Alex]

I can vouch (from personal experience) for the fact that plating (or even just a mix of vibrant colours on the plate) often makes a big difference to the perception of taste and expectations that the next course will be as good or even better than the last. A good appetizer/first course has often worked in my favour when I know the rest of the meal (or just the next course) was not up to the standards I would have liked.

 

So, while that article was interesting and I 'get' what they are saying, I don't think it always holds true. Expectations of the cook (based on prior experience or reputation), the restaurant/home and other circumstances surrounding the whole meal (probably including how much wine people have had before that main course arrives! and is it a casual barbeque with family or a formal dinner at the White House) may not make this always the case 'in real life'.

 

Yes, that's how experimental research works. The results are analyzed for the entire group of subjects as a whole. If a result is deemed to be very unlikely to have occurred by chance, the effect is said to be true -- on average -- for the population. It doesn't necessarily have to be true for any one particular individual. It's basically a probability statement.

 

As I mentioned, obviously there are many variables that can enter into play, but for the parameters of this experiment (e.g., average-quality, simple, main course) the effect was significant. The best analogy I can make is with cigarette smoking and lung cancer. We know that there's a significant causal relationship between the amount and length of time someone has smoked, and the likelihood of their developing lung cancer. That finding doesn't mean that everyone who smokes three packs a day is going to develop it, nor does it mean that a non-smoker won't. There are other variables that can enter into the picture, e.g., genetic makeup, but all else being equal, there's a significant relationship.

[Deryn]

I am way too practical and unscientific I guess. I thought there might be way this would be useful to me in my real world everyday life - but whether what they supposedly find is true or not, it would seem rather silly of me to try to make an appetizer of poorer quality or less interesting solely to make the main course be perceived as better (than it is). Seems not of applicable interest to most home cooks. I strive for excellence with all courses and though I may fail sometimes on one or the other, the one thing I do know is how to up the ante on the course I think I didn't do as well in preparing - with the use of plating techniques.

 

On the other hand, I suppose if I go to a restaurant I will now be aware and may start noticing if I think they are trying to fool me into thinking their mains are better by feeding me a lousy appetizer - or vice versa.

[gfweb]

An issue with the whole app/main thing is that the customer orders from two uncoordinated lists of apps and of mains. The chef might pair the calimari ap with a NY Strip, but the customer could pair the calimari with flounder and then find the fish bland because the squid's sauce blasted their taste buds.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I find myself ordering a couple of apps for dinner sometimes, because many of the great ethnic restaurants in our area seem to focus more effort on making them delicious and presented well.

 

Cheese pakora and samosas from an Indian place, or a huaracha and a gordita from a Mexican one. Cigar bourek and felafel from our Turkish place. The first and last options are vegetarian, and even the middle one can be made to be so if desired.

 

The places I speak of also have great entrees, but they often don't appeal to me personally as much as the apps.

 

I have to say if I was ever seated in a restaurant that served an unappealing appetizer, I'd leave without ordering an entree.

[gulfporter]

I find myself ordering a couple of apps for dinner sometimes, because many of the great ethnic restaurants in our area seem to focus more effort on making them delicious and presented well.

 

Cheese pakora and samosas from an Indian place, or a huaracha and a gordita from a Mexican one. Cigar bourek and felafel from our Turkish place. The first and last options are vegetarian, and even the middle one can be made to be so if desired.

 

The places I speak of also have great entrees, but they often don't appeal to me personally as much as the apps.

 

I have to say if I was ever seated in a restaurant that served an unappealing appetizer, I'd leave without ordering an entree.

Amen!!

 

I can't remember the last time either my husband or I ordered a main course.  We either go to tapas/small plate places or we order appetizers to share at other eateries.  We like strong intense flavors and we like a good variety of tastes; tapas are great for that experience.  Neither of us are that fond of large servings of protein, coupled with an obligatory starch (yes I know we can substitute another veggie, but it's the 'one big plate' concept we don't care for).  

 

We eat out almost every weeknight, and small plates are also a better way for us to keep those hidden restaurant calories at bay.  We stay away from fried appetizers for this reason as well.

 

There's also the matter of cost; instead of 2 entrees at $20-25 each, the two of us usually share 3 tapas/appys at $7-10 each.   

[kayb]

Count me in the appetizers-for-an-entree/tapas camp as well. I enjoy the variety of tastes, and often, I find the quantity of an entree is just too much. What I can eat looks back at me reproachfully from my plate, and I hear my grandmother chastising me about children starving in China.