Well, our relationship with food can be just as confusing at times! Here's an example: You swing by your local coffee shop, grab a piping hot cup of coffee—the one you love—and take a few sips. Everything feels perfect. But by the time you get to work and your coffee has cooled off, you might not feel the same way about it. Suddenly, that once-beloved cup of Joe seems less appealing. This happens because your emotional connection isn’t the only thing that’s changed—your gustatory system has been affected too, and the temperature change has altered the way you experience the coffee.
The point here is that food temperature plays a significant role in how we perceive taste. This is somewhat subjective; not everyone is affected by temperature changes in the same way (pun intended). The coffee example is particularly noticeable because craft roasters have recently started selecting specific beans and roasting them for particular flavor profiles. Similarly, different teas recommend specific steeping temperatures to extract the most flavor. With coffee, which is meant to be consumed hot, you might notice sweetness or bitterness at higher temperatures, but as it cools, the flavors shift toward saltiness and sourness. This is because sodium chloride (salt) doesn’t change in flavor as quickly as caffeine does at lower temperatures. The stronger a flavor profile, the less it’s impacted by temperature changes.
This means that temperature can “unlock” or mask certain flavors. For this reason, serving food at the correct temperature has broader implications than just taste. Our habits and lifestyles create cravings, and our brains and bodies get wired to desire certain foods at specific times—like that bowl of cereal you’ve come to expect every night before bed. By serving food at the right temperature, we can use healthier options to satisfy these cravings. A good example might be combining a cool, healthy fruit with a cup of calming tea. When on restricted diets, mixing hot and cold foods can enhance pleasure and curb overeating. This matters because satisfaction impacts our behavior—after all, we are pleasure-seeking creatures. Food plays a big role in our mood, and in turn, in shaping our actions.
One food that is heavily influenced by temperature is cheese. The flavor of cheese isn’t the only thing that changes with temperature—its aroma does too (Asmita Singh and Han-Seok Seo, citing Drake, Yates, & Gerard, 2005). Isn’t that one of the reasons people love fondue? It tastes so much different than just eating a block of cheese. However, when cheese is served at higher temperatures, only certain elements of it change. One study found that the perception of sourness intensified with temperature, but other flavors remained relatively unaffected. (Drake, Yates, Gerard 2005).
Another interesting example was observed in a study titled Sample Temperatures Can Modulate Both Emotional Responses to and Sensory Attributes of Tomato Soup Samples by Asmita Singh and Han-Seok Seo. This study found that more flavors were detected when soup was served between 50 and 70°C than at 25°C. Not only did the taste differ, but the emotional responses to the soup also changed. While it may seem obvious that warm soup is better than cold soup, the emotional impact of temperature is especially relevant in healthcare settings like hospitals, behavioral health, and long-term care (LTC) environments, where patients are healing. The study found that soup served at higher temperatures (55-75°C) was linked to positive emotions such as “happy,” “pleased,” and “satisfied.” Conversely, soup served at lower temperatures (25°C) was more likely to evoke negative emotions, like “disgusted” and “bored.”
The study concluded, “Product developers, marketers, and business owners seeking to effectively market products should be concerned not only with sensory changes caused by temperature variations but also with how such temperature variation makes people feel.”
What this all points to is that food temperature plays a significant role in more than just food safety—it also affects our emotional responses. While it may seem obvious that hot food should be served hot and cold food should be served cold, it’s essential to consider how food temperature can influence the way people feel as they eat. This is particularly important when serving food to residents, patients, or guests in environments where the emotional and physical state of the individual is a priority. After all, everyone is in a long-term relationship with food, and if it doesn’t meet expectations, it can break hearts.
If your organization or facility is struggling to maintain proper food temperatures, let us know. We have many solutions to help ensure the ideal temperature is maintained, contributing to a better dining experience for all.