How Your Brain Creates Flavor: A Conversation with Prof. Charles Spence
What we think is taste is far more complicated and fascinating than we may realize.
In this episode of the Internet of Senses Institute Podcast, I sat down with Professor Charles Spence, head of the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University and one of the world’s leading experts on multisensory perception. We discussed how our brains construct flavor and why smell plays a far greater role in that than many people appreciate.
Spence argues that “taste” itself contributes very little to flavor. The tongue can only detect five basic tastes—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Everything else we experience when eating is built from a rich combination of retronasal olfaction, texture, temperature, sound, and other sensations. Flavor exists not just in the food itself, but also in the mind.
We also talked about the psychology of expectation and the science of crossmodal perception. Spence explains why a pink savory ice cream can feel deeply unsettling, how the sounds of crunchy foods influence freshness, and why our brains are constantly integrating information from multiple senses to create a seamless experience.
For those interested in olfaction, one particularly interesting part of the discussion focused on scent storytelling when we talked about how scent is most powerful when it adds something new rather than simply reinforcing what is already visible. Used thoughtfully, smell can enrich mood, create emotional resonance, and introduce layers of meaning that other senses cannot provide.
For anyone interested in flavor, multisensory perception, or olfactory storytelling, this episode is essential listening.
You can listen to the full conversation below or wherever you get your podcasts.
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