Food Smells Can Enable Time Travel to the Past

Author: Lancaster University
Published: 2022/10/05 - Updated: 2025/02/18
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed, Research, Study, Analysis
Category Topic: Fitness and Nutrition - Academic Publications

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: This paper explores how technology can reconstruct personal memories by utilizing the flavors and scents of various foods, presenting them in compact, edible forms to serve as potent cues for recalling past experiences. The study involved 12 older adults who provided 72 memories, half associated with food and half not. Researchers created personalized, 3D-printed, gel-like flavor cues that mimicked the original foods, facilitating easier consumption with intensified flavors. Findings revealed that these flavor-based cues significantly enhanced the richness and emotional depth of recollections, effectively transporting participants back in time. This approach holds particular promise for individuals with dementia, as sensory cues like familiar food flavors can trigger vivid memories and potentially improve quality of life - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

The research entitled "It took me back 25 years in one bound": self-generated flavor-based cues for self-defining memories in later life" published in Human Computer Interaction is by Professor Corina Sas of Lancaster University, Dr. Tom Gayler, formerly of Lancaster University and Vaiva Kalnikaité of Dovetailed Ltd. Their work explored the feasibility of 3D printed flavor-based cues for the recall of memories in old age.

Main Content

Older people exposed to food flavors from their youth could time travel back to the past with an enhanced memory of the event

Working with 12 older adults, they collected 72 memories, half involving food and half not involving food, each recalled twice. This ranged from barbecued mackerel at a golden wedding to eating strawberries in hospital after giving birth.

For food memory, the researchers worked with the participants to create bespoke flavor-based cues for each one. The 3D printed flavor-based cues are small, gel-like, edible balls, modeling the original food, which is easier to swallow with more intense flavors without requiring all the ingredients and preparation.

Professor Sas said:

"Our outcomes indicated that personalized 3D printed flavor-based cues have rich sensorial and emotional qualities supporting strong recollective retrieval, especially when they distinctively match the food in the original experience and prompt emotionally positive self-defining memories."

All the participants were able to provide rich sensory accounts when prompted by flavor-based cues, with most of the details not being present in the earlier free recall.

Remembering a Green Thai curry dinner in Cambodia, one participant remembered:

"We went into the kitchen area, which was very basic, and prepared all sorts of types of green vegetables, which I have no idea what they were, sitting on the floor. And then we would help cook them, stir fry them, and then we would help dish them up..."

But after being exposed to the 3D printed flavor-based cue of the Green Thai curry, the participant gave a more detailed memory of

"The chopping noises of cutting up the vegetables, me sitting on the floor cross-legged with my friend, chatting together. And then when we went out, put stuff on the tables, the rest of the group coming out, and we sit on long tables outside, the front of the school, so it's outside in the open air to eat."

A striking outcome was the large number of memories cued by flavors that were recalled with strong feelings of being brought back in time.

Participants said:

"The roast beef and horseradish cue took me back 25 years in one bound . . .I could place myself at the table in the room . . .I ate that, which provoked quite a strong reaction from all the memories. Just suddenly, I was back."

Interestingly, the mere act of eating the cue was seen as a bodily re-enactment of the original event:

"It just kind of triggers a few more sensations. Perhaps when you're tasting it, you imagine yourself there".

The researchers say their research has particular relevance for dementia. Participants talked about the importance of food memories based on their own experiences of caring for loved ones.

One participant whose mother has Alzheimer's said:

"As soon as she smelled and tasted the food, she would say something like, 'Oh, this is like old-fashioned food. This takes me back. She felt it was something she had had a long time ago."

Another participant suggested a scrapbook of food memories to trigger recollections of past events in people with dementia.

Professor Sas said:

"The 3D printed flavours cued recollective retrieval, eliciting sensorially rich and strong positive emotional experiences that participants deeply enjoyed."

Dr Gayler said:

"Working alongside people to create flavour-based cues highlighted how powerful but underused this connection is. Our design approach helped bridge this gap and showed the potential for future applications to create rich, multi-sensory memory aides".

Dr Vaiva Kalnikaitė said:

"We finally have technology that can help re-construct memories using the flavor and scent of different foods in very compact shapes. These are the strongest cues to help us remember".

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

The idea that food can transport us to another time isn't new - many people have experienced a flood of memories after tasting a childhood dish or smelling a familiar spice. However, this study takes that concept a step further by exploring how technology can replicate those triggers in a controlled, intentional way. If further research confirms these findings, flavor-based memory cues could become an important tool for dementia care and cognitive therapy. While still in its early stages, this research highlights an exciting intersection between food science and neuroscience, hinting at a future where a simple bite might help us reconnect with the past in ways we never imagined

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Lancaster University and published on 2022/10/05, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.