Wishing you a multisensory Christmas!

You've bought the turkey, peeled the sprouts, and you know exactly what temperature the oven should be at. But according to Professor Charles Spence, those aren't the only things that go into making sure Christmas dinner is a cracker. Professor Spence, who leads the Crossmodal Research Lab in the Department of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, has shown that everything from the glass we drink from to the colour and shape of the plate we eat off can influence what we think about whatever we happen to be consuming - in this case our Christmas dinner. He says: 'While the heart of any great meal has always got to involve the best seasonal ingredients, beautifully prepared, I believe it is the "everything else" that really makes all the difference to how enjoyable that festive meal will be. 'Did you know, for example, that serving a dessert on a round white plate will make it taste 10% sweeter than exactly the same food served on a square black plate? 'The cutlery we choose to eat with also plays a surprisingly large role - generally speaking, the heavier the cutlery the better the food tastes. 'While the material properties of the cutlery can also impart a subtle taste, it is really the perceived weight that has the biggest impact on our food judgments. Beyond the plateware and cutlery, the atmosphere of the environment we eat in will also affect our judgments.