When we’re planning a delicious meal, we often spend hours carefully considering the ingredients we’d like to include; creating a wonderfully rich array of flavours. Although, rarely do we consider the plate we’re serving our meal on in as much detail… Instead, we assume it makes no difference and whip out the same crockery we’ve used for as long as we can remember (understandably – how can plates possibly make a difference?). However, in reality plates are incredibly influential and despite our disbelief, they really do shape the flavour of a meal and, in some cases, the amount that we eat.
The founders of Peyton & Tyler, an online, premium homewares outlet, making the world of retail more sustainable in turn, are certainly familiar with the wide variety of plate colours, shapes and designs that are currently available; including how these styles influence the foods we love most. Now, to help you understand how your plate choices are affecting the taste of your meals and, importantly, how much you enjoy them, they’re sharing their insights. If you’re hoping to enhance your cooking (and crockery cupboard), then these are the insights you’ll want to hear…
1. White plates are a staple for a reason… they make everything sweeter.
The first plate you envisage is most likely a white, circular plate. Why? They’re a staple. Your cupboards are most likely filled with piles of white plates; they’re easy to stumble across, affordable and, well, they’re the obvious, automatic choice for most of us. However, this may not be accidental, especially if you have a sweet tooth… according to research, by the Memorial University of Newfoundland found white plates enhance sweet flavours, meaning they’re ideal not only for elaborate desserts, but meals with sweet sauces or finishing touches which you’d like to intensify. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, that might not sound like great news… fortunately, there is one very simple solution – move over to the dark side.
2. Black and dark plates aren’t just trendy; they enhance savoury notes.
Black plates are certainly trendy; if you watch any fancy cooking show on TV, have visited a cool new restaurant or even enjoyed a gastro pub’s slate serving board offerings then you’ll have experienced their quirky, unusual appeal up close. Although, black plates don’t just look great; research from Oxford University also suggests they amplify savoury flavours. Meanwhile, they’re thought to make foods taste more luxurious and ultimately of a better quality! If you’ve invested in an expensive steak, glorious lobster or another premium ingredient that you really want to showcase (or if you simply wish to intensify the rich savoury flavours within your dish whilst ensuring the final meal really pops on the plate) then black pates are the perfect choice for you.
3. Who said you had to choose? You can have the best of both worlds…
Fortunately, there’s a whole world of fun plate designs out there that most of us have never explored. As such, you can find pink designs, blues and dark greys, white plates with dark flecks and stripes, meaning your plate will subconsciously help to intensify both sweet and savoury flavours. For example, at Peyton & Tyler we sell Loveramics’ unique Sancai range; featuring white plates with a brilliant, coffee-coloured stripe down their left side, you can create a contemporary dish which is full of flavour (plus, your guests will love being treated to something a little different). Who said you had to choose between sweet and savoury? If you’re a foodie, you’ll want to enjoy both!
4. Red plates affect how much we eat.
We naturally associate the colour red with danger – whether we realise it or not! We might love our food, but that’s not the association we make when eating off of a red plate… Instead, research by Oxford University suggests that red plates subconsciously encourage us to eat less. In turn, we may enjoy our food less, making it a less desirable plate choice.
5. How your plate was created really does influence our satisfaction.
The colour and shape of a plate is clearly very important; white and black plates enhance contrasting flavours, red plates often mean we don’t finish what’s in front of us and quirky white plates with dark, bold details aren’t only aesthetically pleasing, they promise to enrich sweet and savoury notes whilst enhancing our tableware collection. However, how your plate was created is equally as influential in shaping our eating experience… as increasingly conscious and thoughtful consumers, shopping ethically and sustainably enhances how much we enjoy a meal. If we know that we’ve supported a brand which mirrors our own values, then we can rest assured that our purchase was a meaningful one.
That’s why at Peyton & Tyler we sell unsold stock which would otherwise be shipped back to its country of origin (which is detrimental to the environment) or destroyed; they make sure nothing goes to waste, whilst making premium products more accessible for everyone.
For more information about Peyton & Tyler, visit www.peytonandtyler.com.
