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Chew on This And A Life with Animals
It all started at a dinner in Blessington last June.
During the meal a person across the table was gazing fixedly at me. I
was sitting beside one Tom O’ Connor and I said to him, “I think that
person fancies me.” Tom initially informed me that the person to whom I
had been alluding was not into necrophilia. He then said. “You are
being watched because you are chewing with your mouth open and that is
the height of bad manners. “
I said “It’s not bad manners. Civilisation has warped
our imagination and political correctness has made us victims of
convention.” Then, because I knew his area of expertise ( he has a
degree in Agricultural Science) I continued, “It’s not natural to chew
with the mouth closed, there are 200 species of ruminant animals on the
planet and you won’t see any of them chewing with their mouth closed,”
I then pointed out that the Late Norman Wisdom used to do it
playfully to “annoy” his family.
Tom then quoted some philosopher or other whose name I
can’t recall who, according to Tom, said, “Just because you can thrill a
toddler by chewing with your mouth open doesn't mean you should.”
This cross between a discussion and an argument
continued between us until the dessert came around. At which point I
said; “Listen Tom . Before the year is out I’ll give a speech that
will prove beyond doubt that chewing with the mouth open is the most
beneficial way to eat.”
You see I already knew that an expert from the
University of Oxford had established that eating with your mouth open is
the best way to consume food, Prof Charles Spence, an experimental
psychologist, found that it maximises flavour and allows you to get as
much pleasure as possible out of each mouthful. Professor Spence
and his team found quote; “ . . that chewing food with your mouth
open can make food taste better and can help “volatile organic
compounds” reach the back of the nose which can improve the taste of
food. Volatile organic compounds are molecules that can create aromas
and contribute to the flavour of food. So the benefit of them reaching
the back of our nose means it can stimulate cells responsible for our
smell, which can “enhance” the dining experience. “ Charles Spence,
points out that we have, “. . . been doing it all wrong .When it comes
to sound, we like noisy foods – crunchy and crispy. Both crisps and
apples are rated as more pleasurable when the sound of the crunch is
amplified ” .
So, to best hear the crunch of an apple, a potato
crisp, a carrot stick, celery or a cracker, crispbread or a handful of
popcorn, we should always ditch our manners and chew with our mouths
open. The professor also points out that people should use their
hands to eat their food where possible. “Our sense of touch is also
vital in our perception of food on the palate,” he says. The research
shows that what you feel in the hand can change or bring out certain
aspects of the tasting experience. Feeling the smooth, organic texture
of the skin of an apple in our hand before biting into it is likely to
contribute to a heightened appreciation of the juicy, sweet, crunch of
that first bite. This can be extended to the feeling of grains of salt
sticking to the fingers when eating say a smoked cod and chips with
our hands or the sugary residue of buttercream on a hand after biting
into a slice such dangerous food as wedding cake. The experts say
the first taste is with the fingers/hand. Texture provide useful
information about the freshness of produce such as apples.
Wine experts and professional coffee tasters know to
let the air in while tasting, so why not try the same by eating an apple
with your mouth open. It may help to make the most of the taste that
comes from the retro nasal olfaction – that as you know is the smell
that emerges from the back of back of your mouth into the back of your
nose when eating and drinking.”
New York Post editor Maureen Callahan, spotted a raft
of celebs chewing with mouths open. I’m not going to name them but Ms
Callaghan did in her piece in the Sunday Edition of the paper.
I contacted Professor Spence and asked him what sort
of feedback he got from writers of food etiquette and allied politically
correct institutions. He said his discovery had hit a nerve. He told
me, “I have received some of my first hate email!!”
The wine and coffee experts appear to be in agreement
and had been in touch with him and Debrett's, who publish all kinds of
handbooks on etiquette now allow their readers stroke fine diners to eat
SOME things with their hands.”
It is hard to believe but It's against the law to
slurp your soup in public places in New Jersey. Apparently, noisy
eating can be more than just a social faux pas in the state of New
Jersey. This law may stem from an attempt to enforce manners in public,
but it seems rather excessive to me and I think it would be difficult
to enforce it today.
I have come up with a poster for eateries that may want
to attract less than polite customers such as myself. Now, with
Oxford approval isn’t it time that we, open-mouthed chewers,
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Raised by the Zoo, is the story of almost four
decades spent working in Dublin Zoo. Gerry Creighton's father was a
keeper at Dublin Zoo and young Gerry followed his father’s footsteps
and joined the zoo at 15. I’ll tell you more about him next month.
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See you in November.
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