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Study Finds A Good Appetizer Could Make Your Main Course Less Enjoyable

"It's always worth remembering that our experiences are contextual—that is, what we like and don't like, or taste and don't taste, is not objective, but related to the environment, our state of mind, and many other variables.  If you have a fantastic appetizer and then the main seems lackluster, that could be because of this type of contrast effect. That doesn't mean you shouldn't have fantastic appetizers!" said Lahne.

Lahne specializes in sensory evaluation, or the part of food science dedicated to understanding human sensory responses to foods (among other products).  He says that there had been little research on how liking one dish might be influenced by other sequential foods in the meal until this study. With his co-author, Debra Zellner, PhD, a professor at Montclair State University, he published the findings of the study "The Great is the Enemy of the Good: Hedonic Contrast in a Coursed Meal" in Food Quality and Preference.

The study investigated whether the hedonic value of an appetizer affected the hedonic value of the subsequently eaten main course in a real-world meal setting (since hedonic contrast is typically tested laboratory settings). The study was tested on customers in the Academic Bistro, the Center for Hospitality and Sport Management's student-run, culinary-training restaurant, during January and February 2015. Dishes and ingredients were chosen based on the expertise of Chef Richard Pepino, executive chef of the Academic Bistro.

5 Amazing Ways To Make Main Course Meals With Besan - Recipes Inside

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Why Restaurants Should Serve Cheese As The Main CourseBon Appétit

Since I reported on the darkest corners of the meat industry last year, I haven't been able to eat anything with a face. It's a workplace hazard, I guess. Dining on vegetables and grains and tofu is going fine, thanks, but I hadn't realized how much I've been missing the dopamine hit that comes with something like a salty piece of fried chicken, until I was recently presented with a big hunk of cheese at Gem Wine in New York City. 

The waiter plopped down our main dish: a voluptuous wedge of salt-flecked Gouda haloed by sturdy slices of firm-but-sweet pear, flanked by a pile of marinated peppers and a plate of roasted celery root. I can't tell you where in the world the cheese came from, or exactly how bad dairy production is for cows and the environment (fairly, probably), but I do know the sight of it made me foam at the mouth. The heft of the smooth-bottomed cheese knife felt powerful in my hand, and the thick wedge fought back, tugging at the blade in a way mushrooms could never. The flaky, misshapen bits of cheese melted in my mouth, filling the fatty, salty, meat-shaped hole in my heart. 

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At the end of that meal I sat back in my chair, unbuttoned my cargo pants, and sighed with satisfaction. Then, I started to wonder: Why is large format cheese not the norm at restaurants? 

Before you point at the mélange of cheese boards on menus around the country, please hold. Little bits of cheese just don't have the same carnal appeal as one huge chunk. They're also less equitable; while you're focusing on the aged goat, your "friend" has already finished up the matchbox-size Brie sitting stage left. All is fair in love and big cheese. Whether or not you eat meat, I propose that we think of big cheese like we do a roasted branzino or a half-chicken: a sharing dish that can be easily accessorized with a rainbow of veg-heavy small plates.

To be sure, Gem isn't the inventor of Big Cheese. An eight-minute walk away, the Greek restaurant Kiki's serves an almighty block of saganaki that's been rolled in phyllo pastry, fried to a golden crisp, and drizzled with honey. According to a colleague, the Kansas City pizza joint Mama Leones used to give tables giant slabs of provolone on a plate with the bread service. At Hatchet Hall in LA, you'll find a single big cheddar on the menu, which is served with cornbread. And I recently had my first at-home raclette experience with friends. Melting the cheese with a lamp-like grill and scraping the melty puddles onto bread was thrilling. 

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