Sandwiches taste better when someone else makes them: Science

Sandwiches taste better when they are prepared by someone else, science said in a release on March 25.

The findings, published in the journal Science, put an end to the age-old question of whether the phenomenon of enjoying food made by others more than food prepared and eaten by the same individual is psychological or factual.

"Our findings leave no question," said scientist Dr. Joseph Lickler. "In 100 per cent of the cases we studied, the subjects preferred sandwiches they had not prepared over those they made themselves."

Test subjects worked in pairs, each preparing six sandwiches at a time — two ham and cheese, two peanut butter and jelly, and two veggie — using the same fillings, condiments and bread.

Subjects first sampled one of their own sandwiches, then took a few bites from their partner's.

The process was repeated 12 times, each time with a different partner.

"I don't know what it was," said Frank Jones, one of 300 participants who took part in the study. "But boy, everybody else's sandwiches were so much better."

Lickler, looking over notes he collected from the participants, said, "Across the board, the enjoyment of a sandwich is increased when it is made by someone else."

Though scientists are only beginning to analyze the results, Lickler said he and his colleagues have a few working theories.

"We think it might have something to do with the element of surprise," he said. "When you put a sandwich together on your own, your brain is calculating the taste it will create. So when you bite into your own sandwich, it's less exciting."

Another possibility the scientists are looking into is whether more care is put into sandwiches when they are being made for someone else, rendering them much more tasty.

Prior to conducting the study, scientists thought exposure to the ingredients satisfied cravings, thus rendering self-made sandwiches less enjoyable. "But now we're questioning that theory," Lickler said. "Because even after handling, smelling and sometimes tasting the ingredients, the subjects still enjoyed their partners' sandwiches."

Lickler said he expects the analysis to be completed in six months.

The team of scientists will test the findings on other foods, to see whether the same science applies to soups, spaghetti and meatball sauce, and scrambled eggs.

The Crown reserves the right to edit or remove any comment that:

• is libelous, threatening, obscene, or constitutes hate speech
• directly and deliberately insults other posters
• is promotional or commercial in nature

Furthermore, The Crown reserves the right to reproduce the comment in the print edition of the newspaper.