Why cola tastes better in glass than plastic

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Cola in a plastic bottle is convenient to take with you and store in the refrigerator, cola in an aluminum can will quickly be dispensed by an automatic machine, and cola from a glass bottle is tastier. Cola lovers think so. Today Lifehacker will try to figure out why.

Packaging matters

The most delicious cola is to be found in glass bottles. Is the best soda only poured into glass, or is it just that cola is better preserved in such a package? After all, glass is chemically inert, does not have its own taste and smell, therefore it cannot transfer it to drinks.

Sara Risch, a biochemist, believes packaging can affect the flavor of cola. For example, the polymers that coat the inside of an aluminum can can absorb some of the aromas from the soda. Aldehydes from plastic, on the other hand, can get into the drink.

True, the probability of these processes is very low, because special materials are used for packaging food products that are not in contact with the filler. Even if a couple of flavoring molecules are captured in an aluminum can, it will not change the taste of the soda.

Research by J. Kenji López-Alt, a well-known food blogger, confirms that packaging matters, but it does not affect the taste of the drink, but our perception. The blogger suggested people try cola. At first, the subjects did not know what the soda was poured from. Then they were shown that some of the cola was from a glass bottle. The results showed that in order to love a cola made of glass, you need to see this glass first.

The illusion of taste

When we drink soda, our brain activates the release of dopamine, the hormone responsible for pleasure. But when we drink not just soda, but cola from a bright bottle, dopamine receptors begin to work harder.

When processing information, our brain almost never uses only one source, for example, only taste buds. As soon as you pick up a glass bottle of cola, other senses come to the aid of the taste. We like the way the light plays on the glass edges, we like to hold a cool bottle in our hand, we like its weight … And it immediately seems that we have never drunk such delicious soda.

To make us love cola, manufacturers invest billions in advertising every year. So when we want to freshen up, imagine a full, cold, sweet glass cola bottle. One-to-one as in advertising.

So the unique taste of cola from a glass bottle is a very pleasant illusion.

And yet she is different

The taste of cola can vary, but it does not depend on the packaging, but on the country of origin. For example, the United States uses high fructose corn syrup to create a sweet taste, and Mexico uses sucrose. They are similar in chemical composition, but cola fans may find differences in flavor and aroma. By the way, in Russia, cola is made with sucrose.