Love Made to Order: How Food Flavor Fuels Attraction

You are planning a dinner date with a new paramour when the conversation sparks some version of the common query: “Italian, French, or Indian?” If your cuisine selection offers the opportunity to spice it up, literally, research suggests that might be the best option.

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Love at First Bite: Flavor Fans the Flame

In a previous column aptly entitled “Love at First Bite,” I discussed how daters are judged based on what they eat. We notice unusual preferences or dietary restrictions, many of which influence restaurant selection. And regarding your manners and making a good first impression, you probably already thought through the impact of your potential meal selection and are not planning to roll up your sleeves to tackle a Sloppy Joe or a rack of messy ribs.

But what about the impact of food choice on feelings of attraction to your dining partner—and vice versa? Research reveals some tips on what types of foods, palate permitting, might spice up the evening.

Breaking Bread: Seasoning Sets the Scene

Jenni Miska et al. (2018) explored the impact of food flavors on interpersonal attraction and romantic interest.¹ They began by discussing the phenomenon of embodied cognition, which describes how sensory experiences including sensations such as temperature, body orientation, or other physical characteristics can impact and help interpret abstract concepts such as affection or feelings. They explain that because terms such as “hot” and “spicy” are often described to explain physical attractiveness, spicy flavor has been examined in relation to embodied cognition. They note the same phenomenon has been explored linking sweet taste to romantic relationships due to the tendency to use affectionate words such as honey or sweetie.

In their own experiment, Miska et al. gave 87 women each a different snack: sweet, spicy, or nonsweet/nonspicy. As the women ate, they were instructed to look at three male faces of high, moderate, and low attractiveness, and then answer questions about perceived physical attraction and romantic interest. The results? The women in the spicy snack condition rated the men as significantly more attractive and were more romantically interested in the men than those who had consumed a sweet snack.

What exactly did they eat? Good question. The sweet snack was Oreo Cookies, the nonsweet/nonspicy condition was Lay’s Salt & Vinegar Flavored Potato Chips, and the spicy snack was Cheetos Crunchy Cheddar Jalapeño Cheese.

Social Connection Is the Spice of Life

The results obtained by Miska et al. may be consistent with the link between warmth and social connection. True, they anticipated that sweet taste would elevate romantic interest due to the sweet nature of food influencing cognition, but found it was the spicy flavor that significantly elevated feelings of romantic interest as compared to sweet. However, they also note that finding that a spicy or hot flavor sparks more elevated feelings of romantic interest is supported by past studies on physical temperature—finding that warmer temperatures aroused higher feelings of relational connection. Miska et al. opine that experiencing “hot” in a fashion such as spicy flavor could enhance feelings of social inclusion, which often elevates a desire to cultivate more personal connections, which could include increased interest in a romantic relationship.

Although this experiment focused on female participants, perhaps the concept relates to men as well. So, to cover all the bases, maybe a spicy meal followed by dessert? The bottom line is that whatever you order when you share a meal together, the best plan for couples developing a healthy, happy, lasting relationship of love and respect depends more on the way they treat and value each other, demonstrating the impact of character over cuisine.