August 25, 2006
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Taste
I went last night to go pick up a drink for my wife. I went to the gas station and got the Lipton Peach tea. There were two options. There was the option of getting it out of the glass container. That is how it is usually packaged. But there was a new bottle that had the same drink in a plastic bottle. The plastic bottle had more tea in it so I bought it.
I brought the bottle home to my wife and she told me she didn’t like the taste of the tea. She said it is “just different.” I was wondering how it can be different when it is just packaged differently.
I like velveeta cheese slices. But I have noticed that I can eat that same cheese out of the big package and I don’t like the taste of it. I don’t know if it is just eating it in a larger quantity that causes me to not like it.
The same thing will happen with a Pepsi out of a can. I have heard people say that a Pepsi tasted different when it is out of a can than when it is in the bottle. I have heard people mention that is because the can is aluminum.
Do drinks or food taste differently according to their packaging or is it psychological?
Comments (185)
1?
yes, it is the packaging
They do taste differently.
It’s true, the stuff does taste different. All of it.
::happy dance::
I would say that they can taste different. Milk has a completely different taste depending on if it served in glass or plastic. It always tastes spoiled to me in plastic…..
BEER tastes different
It’s the packaging.
Definetly! Beer tastes better in a bottle than it does in a can, too!
Yeh, I think they taste differently…
it’s the packaging
definitely a difference.
like…i love diet coke, but diet coke from like…a restaurant or something is better than from a bottle or can.
yea, they do. specially lemonade. then again, the only GOOD lemonade is fresh.
They taste differently.
can, fountain, 2 liter all tastes differnt. i think it has to do with the fizziness… iono how to explain it but there’s a difference!! maybe you should try a taste test and see if you can distinguish between them hahah
have a great weekend!! =)
It depends. If it really is the same food, then it is probably psychological. Velveta cheese slices are *not* the same stuff as Velveta cheese in the larger box.
I think plastic lets in other flavors. Like if you buy a coke in a smoke filled gas station your coke tastes like smoke… it’s sick.
Yea. I dont like plastic containers
I dunno…. but for some reason, coke always tastes better in a glass bottle….
I like the taste of aluminum, and since my mouth touches the can, I can taste it. Bottled or canned pop tastes the same to me when poured into a class, so I think that it is the actual container that we are tasting, not a change in the drink itself.
Dr. Carasco
I don’t know.
I think it could be because of their package.
yes the way their packaged changes the way its taste.
In the case of the tea when you said ‘their was more’ I thought instantly wondered if more just meant watered down tea…hmm..
maybe its both? if the packaging isn’t that much different but different enough to notice then its probably just psychological.
maybe that packedge. but my nose is pluged up so nothing tastes good right now
Well I’m unsure because when I went to australia the coke taste worse than it does in the US but the sprite tasted better. I though that was weird.
It also depends on if it comes from a fountain (using town water).
Amanda
Little of both, I think.
I think that some of it is psychological.
*A*
yeah, they taste different. Mountain Dew out of a can vs. Mountain Dew in a bottle, or out of a fountain…very different.
It’s all in your head!! P.S. – you haven’t visited me in a while *sniff* … are you mad at me?????
I don’t like to drink stuff out of plastic….but it prolly is all in my head….
Good question. It’s probably the packaging….
I think it’s the packaging. Chocolate milk and Apple Juice both taste better to me from a carton rather than plastic or glass.
It can definitely taste different according to the package. Just try drinking water from a plastic bottle versus water from a tap. The plastic-bottled stuff often tastes like… well, plastic. Especially if it’s been kept somewhere warm.
well, it’s not because of the aluminum because the aluminum oxide layer on the outside of the aluminum keeps it from corroding or reacting with the pepsi… it’s all in the mind
i’ve heard people say that coke tastes different when it’s in plastic or glass bottles. i haven’t tried to prove them wrong because i don’t like coke.
but i think it’s the packaging.
it all depends on how i feel about the packaging
it definitley tastes different…. or she wanted to be difficult
Chemically, it is the packaging. I mean, with cans, it’s aluminum and with bottles, it’s the plastic hydrocarbon chains and so forth, and with cartons, it’s some sort of paper.
Both.
i think its packaging but my mind fools me a lot of times as well.
I agree that it tastes different, but it’s very possible it has some psychological roots (like which one you drank when you were little or have had the longest. That one would probably taste better). I’ve noticed this with many things from soda to ketchup. However, I also know of some things (like Miracle Whip) that don’t seem to change in taste dependent upon the container. With drinks, however, it almost always has a difference.
differently according to the package. And velveeta is gross inless it is in queso.
They taste different due to the way they are packaged.
everything is psychological.
The machines they package them in are different, so I guess they would have slightly different tastes. I mean, there could be any number of factors as to why plastic and glass would be different. Different chemicals, different process, different handling… maybe residue from gloves… who knows. But hell, food is food and drink is drink.
yeah i think it does taste different.cuz sometimes ill buy drinks that are in a different kinda container cuz it look cool or something and will taste like crap.
The certainly taste different.
I definitely think it’s mostly psychological.
Definitely a packaging thing. It makes sense, too. Soda out of a can has a metallic taste to it.
w/ soda i think its the packageing, how the carbonation is kept etc. i don’t know about the cheese… i like your theory of the ammounts and as for the tea, it could be packaging and psychological {i belive a lot of thes kind of things relate back to the psychological side of the story}
My mind plays so many tricks on me, I can’t beleive that this would be another of it’s tricks. So I am saying, yes, stuff does taste differently in different containers.
probably a little of both
I think it’s a bit psychological, really. I think it depends on the products. Drinks could certainly taste a little different from the packaging, like picking up chemicals from it or something… I don’t know. But on the psychological note, if it’s familiar (for example the tea), part of the experience is the feel of the glass. So it would taste different from the plastic because your brain is registering an almost-familiar sensation with something out of place. So it’d probably register the taste differently too.
Also, I like cheddar cheese sooo much more when it’s shredded than when it’s sliced. I swear, it tastes different.
Packaging does make a difference. Please comment my post today, Dan. Thanks.
there is. When we moved to Germany I had to get used to the milk, because it is still packaged in cartons. It tastes more…cardboardy then the one in plastic jugs.
Most certainly.
yeah its the material its packed up in that causes that
It can be both
People say that about beer, too in a bottle vs a can. The cntainer (and the materials it’s made out of) could certainly cause slight chabges in the taste.
i’ve never noticed a difference in something tasting different because of the package size or how it’s packaged…. but I know when I buy milk in a paper carton compared to the plastic carton – it seems to taste better a few days later in the paper carton then it does the plastic.
I think it’s psychological, although some plastic containers when frozen or regiferated release parts into the liquid they contain which alter the taste. But I think it’s mostly psychological. It reminds me of an instance where there were two piles of hankercheifs (no idea on spelling for that) in a department store. One was 10$ per hanky, and was dubbed “French Napkins”. The other pile was 2$ a hanky, and was dubbed “Nose Rags”. Both were the EXACT same thing, yet more of the expensive versions sold.
Wow, you joined xanga about the same time I did. How did you spread the word about your self?
Keep your stick on the ice.
With soda the amount of carbination is different depending on the container it is in, the least being in a can, the most being from a foutain at a restaurant.
the way it’s packaged…
Yea, it’s the packaging. A friend of mine said that there are some things that are in plastic that can go into the product. That’s why they say to not re-use your water bottles cause the older they get, the more broke down they get, the more of those chemicals get into whatever you have in the container, the more of those chemicals you consume. The best kind of plastic says “PETA” on the bottom. That kind doesn’t leak into the product as quickly.
Sometimes.
And i like homemade tea myself with half the sugar. Ain’t nothing like it and my family and friends LOVE it.
Have a great weekend
Most definitely. I remember back when milk only came in glass bottles-it was colder than in the palstic ones of today. Aluminum, plastic and glass all provide different tastes, to me.
Yes! It’s a good think to try at a dinner party. Gather some friends and do some blind taste testing. Include tap/bottled water too.
packaging.
I’ve heard actually that the plastic bottles make drinks taste different…something about the petroleum used to make the bottles leaving a residue on the surfaces of the bottle. it’s harmless, of course, and subtle, but it does make a difference.
a little of both
ryc: yep the big 1-8. Yeah, the pain would go away if I stopped exercising.. but the pain came from the fact that i have to walk to much (i’m out of shape) … so pretty much I need the exercise so I dont get the pain.. but the pain is caused by the loss of exercise. I’m not sure if I explained that right. oh well.
I think that it’s a little of both….
I think Pepsi tastes a little different in a can than a bottle. I prefer the can taste.
both.
You actually like Velveeta cheese?
We are Coke people down here. In college, my husband and his friends would have lengthy discussions about how pepsi was like the “dark side.” Or even better, I once heard one of them using this analogy about how it was O.K. to be TEMPTED to drink pepsi, just like Jesus was tempted in the desert. . .
But having said that, Coke does taste differently in the can, than in the bottle.
Its all in your head. Your tongue is in your head isn’t it?
I think they taste differently because of the packaging.
How the subject is handled.
I think the packaging definitely makes a difference. For instance, bagged salad has a nasty taste and smell compared to purchasing a head of lettuce and adding your own fresh veggies.
I’m just testing my new comment pic… I didn’t think you’d mind, Dan
I think they taste different
I think they really do taste differently. Pepsi from a can tastes different than Pepsi from a fountain and both are different than Pepsi in a plastic bottle. (Incidentally, Pepsi from a fountain is best followed closely by Pepsi from a can)
I have a cup I absolutely can not drink coffee out of or the coffee tastes like plastic. I’ve not clue why just is, I guess.
I think it’s a combination, what something is in is probably gonna affect the taste, but it’s also partially psychological, you see something different so you expect something different.
Packaging. You can taste the aluminum and the plastic in the drinks, and because well, that’s what’s your mouth’s on.
They taste different.
probably a little of both but plastic seems to be a common denominator and i too have noticed that plastic wrapped stuff tastes wierd and also plastic tastes kinda wierd and thats my two cents worth
Hi Dan! Is it my imagination or do I really think bottled water brands taste different. Or am I crazy in the head?
they actually taste different.
YEa I have noticed that! Like Mountain Dew tastes better in plastic bottles than a can! It COULD be a little psycological too though
hey, if toenails and fingernails taste different, but they’re made of the same material,
then i think it is psychological
Arizona Green Tea tastes tinny and nasty out of a can as opposed to a glass bottle, and more watery out of a plastic bottle. Does that answer your question? Not really.
The packaging. I do not drink any iced tea out of the bottle anymore, only the can! I think the canned tastes better.
probably depends
it is different..just a little…
yea i think it do sometimes
It couldbe psychological, but either way it tastes different or seems to.
yes. I love root beer and cream Soda out of a glass bottle, but don’t like it as much as plastic or cans. Same with Jones Soda (the best coke in the world)
maybe there’s something diffrent about the chemicals they use in diffrent bottles?
It’s the packaging. . . the plastic leaks into the food/drinks. Same goes for aluminum. But if it’s in glass it’s fine.
I think they really do taste different. But I don’t think any of the differences are big enough for me to not like it. Like the Pepsi in the can: tastes different from in a bottle, which tastes different from fountain. Though they all taste different, they all taste like Pepsi!
chemicals from the container that they are held in leech into the liquid. Yes, containers made of different substances would influence the taste of whatever liquid they are held in. Not everyone can taste the difference. It does not make it pyschological, it is probably due to genetic differences in people’s ability to detect different tatses.
it’s psychological
I feel they taste different, but I’m drinking everything canned right now …
-Guru on the Hill
i dotn know if we could ever know that unless someone just gave us something and didnt tell us where it was from.
Morgen
The plasticizer (stuff that makes plastic flexible) in plastic bottles in known to leach into the contents of the bottles. There’s no telling how that will react with the stuff in the bottles (e.g. tea) or how it’s going to taste, but it can give you cancer. Of course, I’m drinking tea from a plastic bottle as I write this, so what do I know?
It’s the same with aluminium cans, but with different chemicals. Ths cans are coated with something to keep the alumunium from reacting with the contents of the can. Some beer companies even line their cans with, you guessed it, plastic. (Canned iced tea is really awful.)
I Don’t know about your Velveeta, but I’ve found that a tiny, thin slice of cheese usually tastes better than a great big chunk.
They do taste different.
I think it’s the packaging precautions they take that make them taste different.
They may have coated the inside of the bottle of tea with a chemical so it stayed fresher. That’s what they do with water.
(Just so you know: The chemical coating on the inside of water bottles can start to wash out if you re-use the bottle and it’s been known to cause cancer.)
I think it’s psychological. I think everything tastes the same regardless, I just don’t like to have it certain ways.
It is the packaging.
Have a good weekend Dan
They definitely do taste different. I am a rootbeer conisseur and can tell the difference between can, plastic bottle, tap, and glass bottle. You should try sunny delight both in a can and in a plastic bottle once, there is a very dramatic difference.
Julia Child used to make a big deal about using a metal pan or a glass pan or a metal spoon or a wooden spoon to cook with as well.
i prefer a medium pizza to a large. it tastes better to me.
no it def tastes different. Orangina tastes disgusting out of a can. it tastes like aluminum. but out of a bottle it is delicious!
I think everything tastes different depending on the packaging. Especially between a fountain drink and a can or bottle. Very different taste.
“I went to the gas station and got the Lipton Peach tea.” Ugh. Buying beverages for one’s wife at the GAS STATION!!?? That is simply not done by civilized humans.
Yes they taste different. It’s the interaction of the materials i.e. aluminum. Glass has no interaction so you get the “pure” taste of what is contained within.
Now come watch my videos yall.
yes its the packaging most of the time
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Absolutely!! Plastic and aluminum pick up odors – If you buy a drink in a store that sells chicken for instance – your drink will taste like chicken LOL – I hate drinking out of plastic or cans – Glass is much better!!
It is both. There was a study done a while back on chocolate and which color packaging it would taste the best in. The results came out that the same piece of chocolate tasted better out of a red box with most of the people who tried it.
At the same time, thin slices of cheese taste very different from thick ones. The same is true for certain types of meats. I guess you could say, “It’s all in how you slice it.”
One of my favorite drinks is Coca-Cola out of a can, but only in certain situations. I have to not have had soda for a while, been working all day, and just had a slice of Pizza. I hate coke out of a plastic bottle. It’s ok in a glass bottle, but I usually have that in different countries where they mix it differently.
As far as soda’s, I know from working in the restaraunt industry that they mix diffently out of the fountain than in a can or 2-litre.
It’s both.
Different packagings impart different flavors. The only kind of packaging that really doesn’t is glass. That’s why I prefer glass packaging as opposed to plastic.
I think it can go either way… when things are packaged in cans, where a metallic taste can be detected, it’s an obvious difference than if that same thing were packaged in a bag or something…. But I don’t see how tea could taste different from glass to a bottle… I think that’s just psychological, because it looks different from what she was used to.. I’ve probably done that too without realizing it, but who am I to say..
Velveeta isn’t cheese.
packaging and company….
it may be psychological, either way they seem to taste different so both i guess
Yes it tastes different. Also, fountain is different. The town water supply can effect the taste, yucky water equals yucky pop.
Package, Package, Package
Ok glass doesn’t put off anything that effect the taste. Plastic bottle will if the drink gets hot while in shipment sitting on a truck. Have you ever had a Coke that tasted weird in a can? Did you know that they spray the inside of a coke cans with lacquer? If they didn’t it would eat right through the can in about a week. This weird taste you get is from either age or heat or both. If one of those comes into effect then the lacquer will break up into the coke itself giving the off taste.
Stick with GLASS when ever possible.
When I used to drink soda there was a very noticable difference between soda in a can, in a bottle and from a restaurant. I don’t know if it’s psychological or not. After all, you’re reading a comment from a person who can tell the difference between bottled water. lol
no, i think it really is different…. coke tastes the best out of glass bottles
yes it does taste different.
I was told dan by the companies who make the drinks , several times that the drinks can go bad if they have been stored hot during transportation or at the store. Just like diet drinks only have the shelf life of 3 months.
They sometimes do taste differently. Really. Plastic can leave an after taste in the drink. Of course, I believe that water tasts better from a find crystal glass than from a regular glass.
It has to do with the material of the package. Diet Mt. Dew tastes so much more fresh than out of a bottle or tap.
Plastic is known to leach into some drinks. I’d believe it.
I think they do taste a little different.
I think it’s a psycological thing. I like milk out of a plastic cup, but not out of a glass. However, if you look at foods outside of packaging, I like to eat string cheese in strings, but can’t stand it if I bite it off. Even if the pieces I eat are the same, the taste is different, but packaging has no part.
It’s more likely to be psychological, but slight changes in the flavour of something is possible.
Nope. I like shredded cheddar but I hate block cheddar because it’s always too sharp. The former has less surface area and can react easier with outside chemicals.
Or so I think. I’ve been taking 3 days of chemistry class so that makes me an expert, right?
I think that it’s both. I got sharp cheddar cheese that was white and i hated it. and when i got yellow sharp cheddar, i kindof liked it.
I don’t know enough about the chemistry between aluminum and the content of Pepsi or coke, or if the aluminum is coated, and therefore the chemistry of that coating is the question. I am sure it could, and has been tested using sensitive gas chromatograph/mass spectrometers that can detect parts per billion of molecules that may cause flavor differences, but those results would not be published.
I have preferences too. Not only colas out of glass bottles, but the mixture used by Taco Bell for Pepsi seems to be more satisfying. Since restaurants mix the syrup, water, and carbonation in machines, that mixture varies quite a bit.
ok, dude. you have a serious problem with your size if you can’t eat the larger cheese. at least, that’s what a therepist would say… about your wife: plastic DOES make it taste different.
and who drinks pepsi? COKE IS MUCH BETTER!
You know what? Meeeee tooooooooooooooooo! I like the slices but in the lil rectangle… I hate it! Lipton Sweet Tea no lemon is my favorite. I havent seen it in a plastic bottle yet.
When you started with I went to get my wife a drink, I thought of alchol…. then you said convenience store.. I was like.. huh? A 40? lol
HOw sweet of a husband you are to going out to get a drink like that. Awwwwwww. I like that
Drinks react chemically with their containers and therefore might have an alteration in taste. Also, different types of containers may be filled from beverage batches produced at different plants who’s products even when meant to taste identical may in fact vary due to slight differences in production methods. For example, European Coca-Cola while theoretically the same as the U.S. version in fact tastes notably different.
a little of both…probably mroe psych. though..i can’t drink water of a glass…it has to be in a bottle
obviously psychological but that doesn’t mean they don’t taste different.
like if their was a picture of a corpse. they wouldn’t taste so good.
there*
pardon my terrible grammar.
idk.. lol im not sure
IDK…but they do taste different.
OMG I seen it today and was going to get it…. then I seen it was in the plastic bottle, looked at my husband and said… “I want this but I can’t get it in a plastic bottle” He looks at me to ask why and I say… “Well because Dans wife says it tastes weird in a plastic bottle” He thought I was nuts, lol. Just thought I would share my goofy moment of the day…
LOL. I’m just like you when it comes to cheese. There’s this brand of cheese called The Laughing Cow and I love eating it when it’s in cube form for snacking, but I just don’t like it as much when it’s in wedge form.
cool story want to know more
its just an economic sense.
think of the law of diminishing marginal utility
i think it’s probably a combination of the psychological belief that the liquid will taste somewhat different, and they really do prob. taste a little different.
I think its psychological. I have never tasted a diffrence.
Oh it’s different. Pepsi for instance has a different recipe for each way of packaging, whether it’s the 2 liter, cans, glass bottles (the best of course after on tap).
packaging makes a huge difference…and plastic makes every kind of drink taste bad.
Taste diferently! Mountain Dew in a Bottle tastes like crap, while Mountain Dew in a can tastes okay. (and the MTNDEW in a can wont fizz when you shake it up either, but that’s besides the point) I prefer Coke over all pops. I like coe in both containers, but i like bottled the most. Class bottle is the best.
Taste diferently! Mountain Dew in a Bottle tastes like crap, while Mountain Dew in a can tastes okay. (and the MTNDEW in a can wont fizz when you shake it up either, but that’s besides the point) I prefer Coke over all pops. I like coe in both containers, but i like bottled the most. Class bottle is the best.
That would be an interesting thing to test, but it’s probably the packaging.
Well I notice the difference, and most other people, but I don’t know if its more psychological or if it really makes a difference.. ?
Haley
its due to the packaging, not psychological.I think glass is better than plastic or cans for drinks,. I have had really”canny” tasting soda’s,and they really don’t taste as good.
i think its probably partly psychological and partly actual differance. there may be an actual difference, but if there wasnt so much hype over plastic vs. aluminum or glass, people might notice the difference less.
Jenn
It’s not psychological. The packaging does add a taste to the whole.
it is proably the package
I don’t know if it’s psychological, but I much prefer Pepsi out of a can. Out of a bottle Pepsi tastes plastic-y and cheap.
they do taste different to me.also if they are cold or hot they seem diff to me.i wont eat mac and cheese cold or reheated.just dont taste right
Yes they do taste different.
I’m sure the packaging can have some effect on the taste…and, yes, I’ve noticed the difference before, too.
ya plastic tends to change foods and drink’s tastes. glass much less so. also veleeta (the big package) is foil, so that would change it alot
There is a difference, especially between glass and plastic bottles.
i would like to point out that most people think that yellow american cheese tastes exactly the same as white american cheese, there was a survey on the Food Network, most people just assume there’s a differance because of color……
hey sexy
Yes, I think things taste differently when packaged in different things. I like fountain sodas much better than bottled or cans. I just got back from Canada a few days ago and had Coke while I was there and noticed it tasted much different than it does here.
I think it’s the packaging, but I’ve never noticed a difference, lol.
-KrIsTiN-
Ice cold Coke in a glass bottle tastes 10 times better than out of a plastic one.
Mmmmm, never thought of that. I usallly get it from an can anyway or from a fountain dispensor at a fast food place.
But maybe plastic do not appeal to me much unless it is iced.
I am entering here a little late so I doubt anybody is reading this far back. The molecular interaction between a liquid and the container is well documented. Plastic is from an oil dirivative and glass is not. Notice how a plastic bottle becomes brittle when exposed to sunlight for just a short period of time. The oil evaporates and disintergrates into the air. As with the air the liquid inside a plastic container is acting upon the oils inside the plastic. Yum. I tried to sound really intelegent here. Just made it all up. I don’t know. Glass is better.
packaging
I think it’s psychological.
> I’d say both, but then, I like debate…. Thte power of suggestion coupled with packaging…. You can taste the difference between glass and metal, even if it is lined. If that is what you’re looking for….
it tastes different…. like coke out of a can and coke out of a two liter….. it’s just not the same :-/
drinks especially taste different if they’re in a plastic bottle that’s been sitting in a car, you can taste the chemicals. i heard certain bottles release carcinogens– yikes!
I know for a fact that the chemicals from the plastic leach into your drink if the bottle gets warm. Chances are that happens somewhere in shipping.
Actually a difference, not a psychological effect of the container. Nothing better than coffee brewed over a campfire in a tin container, wstarting with water from a mountain stream. I would not drink coffee from a very-much used 30-cup coffee-maker. Maybe one cup for the caffeine intake. Not much from a glass-lined or stainless steel thermos.
It’s true.
Packaging makes the taste different. For plastic or foils hold the flavor differently.