Touch and the Aesthetics of Food

Abstract

Both food and the sense of touch mainly were ignored throughout the history of Western philosophy. Times have changed, and finally, research is done on touch and on food even in Ango-American aesthetics. This paper brings the topics together by looking into the importance of touch in our aesthetic experiences of and around food. Once one turns away from the exalted realm of art and other exceptional experiences, it is evident that cooking and eating can provide important aesthetic pleasures in our everyday lives. I will argue that touch plays a fundamental role in three different, aesthetically important dimensions around eating. The first one is sensory and concerns the pleasures of the mouthfeel of food. The second is cognitive and relates to touch being a source of information about what is eaten. The third is the role of touch in the actions of cooking and having a meal.