It’s a sidebar to a ‘just for fun’ post earlier this past week. Wonder Bread has declared: the majority of Canadians prefer triangular sandwiches. But what about the related question of whether triangular sandwiches actually taste better?
Survey says…
The Angus Reid poll commissioned by Wonder Brands Canada revealed…
A convincing 60 percent of English-speaking Canadians prefer a triangle-cut sandwich to a rectangle-cut sandwich.
Among those who insist on a triangle cut, 54 percent do so for appearance, 31 percent for nostalgia, 17 percent for maximizing bites, and 14 percent for taste.
Taste? Really?
Seems counter-intuitive… But some formidable scientific authorities opine as there may be real, ob-jective reasons that triangle-cut sandwiches DO taste better.
According to BBC Science Focus, studies confirm that, “triangles give you more sandwich filling per bite. A triangular sandwich has two 45 degree corners that allow you to bite much further towards the middle on your first two bites, where there is more filling.”
Even architects, engineers and designers are pro-triangle. Architect Kevin Harris states, “the diagonal cut exposes more of the interior of the sandwich, and by exposing the interior, it engages more of your senses before you take the first bite.”
Well, when you put it that way… After all, we know that our sense of smell is even more important than our taste buds in enjoying the complex flavours of the foods we eat. If looking at more appet-ising food can engage the nasal ‘channel’ more fully…
My take
There remains much mystery about the workings of the human brain. And even the well-known alliance of smell and taste is not well understood at the basic, sensory-wiring level.
I’ve always thought triangular sandwiches taste better than rectangular ones. But I’ve seldom said so out loud. Until now.
Furthermore, the science invoked by the BBC and Harris does seem plausible.
My questions to you:
Do you honestly believe triangular sandwiches taste better than rectangular ones? If so…
Do you agree with the survey, that it’s a matter of scientific fact?
Or do you prefer to think of it as a sort of culinary magic that can’t be, or doesn’t need to be, explained logically?
Muse on that…
~ Maggie J.