Why do we not like the color blue in food?

Despite all the cultural differences, blue is the favorite color of the majority of people around the world, followed by red and green, according to surveys carried out in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Even in countries like China, where red, yellow and green are traditionally the colors of good luck, people prefer blue.

With blue we associate the sky and the sea, serenity, relaxation, silence, nostalgia. Blue has a calming effect, and certain shades of blue also convey a feeling of cold and harshness. With them we associate cold water and ice, which can also relieve pain. With blue painted walls, the rooms seem larger and the space more relaxing. And in clothing, blue in all its shades is the most used. The blue jeansfor example, They are the most used pants. Blue clothes make us look confident, determined, sensible, reliable, but also somewhat distant. It is not by chance that most of the uniforms around the world are blue.

Live the colors with all the senses

Visible light is made up of waves of different lengths. And each wavelength corresponds to a certain color. When a certain wavelength is perceived by our visual apparatus, in the retina, it stimulates the photoreceptor cells there, in this case, the cones, responsible for color vision. The cones detect a wide spectrum of photons, and through a photochemical process, they originate nerve impulses that reach the brain, where the vision of the corresponding color in the light spectrum is produced. Blue has relatively short waves.

But not only do we perceive colors with our eyes, there are also sensors in the skin that are sensitive to light and react to colors, influencing the biophysical and biochemical processes of our body. That is, they influence the increase or decrease of our heart rate, and also the increase in respiratory rate and blood pressure.

Yes to blue, but not in food

However, despite the fact that blue is such an accepted color, we avoid it when it appears in food. Of course there are berries that, at first, look blue, and plums or grapes bluish, but if we look closely, they are more of a purplish blue, or a bluish red.

We avoid blue foods because they hardly exist in nature. At the same time, we associate the blue coloration in food with danger or intolerance, with putrefaction and bitter substances. Mold, for example, is blue or blue-green in color, while mushrooms often turn bluish, blue-black, or purple.

Definitely, when it comes to food, we associate the color blue with danger.

According to psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, “colors are the mother tongue of the unconscious.” They serve as a direct guide in everyday life, they trigger a spontaneous reflex in us. We perceive the “red color signal” as a warning or danger, and our attention is unconsciously stimulated.

We like to eat red fruits or vegetables because we automatically associate red with ripeness and sweetness. We hardly know blue edibles. On the other hand, they intuitively convey the feeling of being inedible, and even harmful.

Children are less judgmental

Our rejection of blue foods is anchored, in part, in our genes, but it is, above all, a matter of education. Many children like, for example, ice cream or blue popsicles. The researchers believe that young children are more open to consuming unusual foods, and that bright colors may arouse their interest because knowledge about food is not yet developed in them as it is in adults.

The instinctive distaste we feel for certain colors in food can also be beneficial. According to studies from the 1970s, the color blue may have an appetite-suppressing effect. In one experiment, people ate less in a room painted blue, for example.

That is that effect could also be used to lose weight. There are even nutritionists who recommend using blue crockeryblue cutlery, a blue tablecloth or blue light lamps to influence food intake. (I)