Mouth work: bodily action in sensory science

ABSTRACT

Sensory science is a scientific discipline that measures human responses to the sensory qualities of food products. In order for study subjects to reflect on their tasting experience, the products under study have to be put into the mouth: chewed, sucked, savored, and (possibly) swallowed. The mouth and its actions are key areas of interest for sensory science: the movements of the mouth can potentially affect how subjects perceive sensory qualities and thus determine the reliability of data. To control the actions of the mouth, sensory tests may include strict instructions on chewing behavior. This paper explores the concept of the mouth in sensory science: how is the mouth controlled, imagined, and organized in an experimental modality? It draws on the analogy of work to elucidate the mouth as a regulated and productive instrument in sensory tests. As a correlate to the productive mouth, it also shows how the consumer’s mouth is conceptualized either in contrast to, or as emanating from, standardized behaviors. Based on ethnographic research with US sensory scientists and on sensory science literature, it examines how a focus on work and its excesses can illuminate the mouth as the intimate site that scales up to mass markets.

KEYWORDS:

• Anthropology
• taste
• texture
• sensory science
• mouth
• United States

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, the author would like to thank all the sensory scientists who so generously offered their time and insights during the course of this research project. Thanks are also extended to several people who read drafts and offered feedback and critique on this manuscript: Molly Cunningham, Karma Frierson, Joseph Masco, Adam Sargent, Alexios Tsigkas, and Kaya Williams. Two anonymous reviewers provided useful and constructive avenues for the improvement of this manuscript. Special thanks to Jake Lahne and Christy Spackman for their vision, energy, and collaboration in putting together this special issue.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Although the mouth is the focus of this paper, it is important to note that for sensory science the mouth is not the sole bodily region involved in the experience of food. Texture sensations, for example, have been thought to involve the hands and the audible perception of sound (Dickau 2017).

2. This is by no means an exhaustive list of research conducted by sensory scientists, and an account of the scope of the field is beyond the aims of this paper. For example, other research in sensory science might ask how genetics contributes to sensory perception, or how liking of a food changes along with reduced levels of sodium, or research may investigate the methodological practice of sensory science itself.

3. In the Grundrisse, Marx notes that production and consumption are intimately conjoined: “Hunger is hunger, but the hunger gratified by cooked meat eaten with a knife and fork is a different hunger from that which bolts down raw meat by the aid of hand, nail, and tooth. Production thus produces not only the object but also the manner of consumption, not only objectively but also subjectively. Production thus creates the consumer” (Marx 1993, 92). Sensory science conducted in industry settings is a palpable performance of this observation by Marx.

4. All names used in this paper are pseudonyms, aside from references to cited authors or public figures.

Additional information

Funding

This research was completed with support from a Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant; National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant; University of Chicago Social Science Division Research Grant; and a Chemical Heritage Foundation Doan Fellowship.

Notes on contributors

Ella Butler

Ella Butler is a PhD candidate in the department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. Her work focuses on food, taste, and scientific conceptualizations of sensory experience.