Sensory Exploration in the Kitchen: A Guide to Engaging the Senses

Image description: a woman with brown skin and who is wearing a head scarf holds a pan of food in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other as if stirring the pan. They have their face close to the pan as if they are smelling the food.

Sensory exploration with food is fun, educational, and can help build a deep relationship with food. Sensory exploration encourages engagement from all of our senses—sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste. Try these ideas to explore different ways to engage your senses with food!

Embrace Textures:

In addition to enjoying the taste of food, people often enjoy the texture. For example, people tend to crave crunchy snack foods because the crunching sensation is enjoyable and transforming a crunchy texture to a soft one can be satisfying. One way to explore textures in the kitchen is to experiment with changing the texture of one ingredient. For example, a banana is soft, but still firm. However, that same banana will quickly turn into a soft gooey texture when blended. A blended banana will then turn into a creamy solid texture once frozen. When experimenting with different textures, think about which texture you enjoy the most and why. 

Discover Aromas:

Cooking is one of the most aromatically rich activities that one can engage in. Pleasant smells can provoke happy feelings, especially if they are associated with enjoyable experiences. For example, many people have strong memories of Sunday dinner or holiday treats. These food memories are often closely associated with happy feelings from spending time with loved ones. When we enjoy the smell and the taste of an ingredient, it allows us to expand our palette. For example, someone who enjoys the smell and taste of oranges will most likely enjoy foods that have orange in it, like orange cake. For a fun activity, make a list of your favorite food smells. Once you have your list, look up recipes that include your favorite aromatic ingredient. Experiment with cooking those recipes and see which ones you enjoy. 

Experiment with Taste:

There are endless opportunities for tasting different flavors and combinations with cooking. For many of us, we instantly know if we like the taste of something after one bite. However, being able to explain why we like or do not like the taste can be a bit harder. Learning different terms to describe how something tastes can be helpful in understanding preferences and articulating these preferences to others. Words such as bitter, sour, tangy, burnt and more are all descriptors that provide context as to why someone likes or dislikes the taste of an ingredient or dish. The next time you have a meal, see if you can use a new word to describe the flavor. You can use this this list of 73 food descriptive words to help!

Explore Colors and Plating: 

Just like smell, seeing an ingredient or dish provides information on the taste and if we might enjoy it. When foods attract us visually, through colors and plating, we are more interested and invested in the eating experience. It can also be fun to experiment with colors in the kitchen. For example, sautéing white onions is a visually rich experience as they turn from bright white to translucent. Add a dash of turmeric, though, and the onions take on a completely new look. Allow your imagination to run loose when it comes to plating and experiment with what looks good to you. Alternatively, you can also look at inspiration food posts on Instagram or Pinterest. 

Engage in Sound:

The kitchen is full of captivating sounds that convey meaning to us. For example, the sizzling sound of frying foods lets us know the oil is hot enough. Alternatively, the popping sound of popcorn tells us the kernels are transforming. The next time you cook, intentionally listen to all of the sounds you are making. Which sounds are the most relaxing, enjoyable, or irritating? Which sounds do you normally ignore and which ones do you listen for?  Focusing on sounds while cooking can be an enjoyable and meditative experience. 

Sensory exploration encourages new experiences with food and a better understanding of one’s likes and dislikes in the kitchen. There are countless ways to focus on the senses while cooking and there is no right or wrong way to do so.