Eye Candy vs. Ugly Desserts

     Jai and I had watched one of those brain game shows.  The focus was on what food appearance is acceptable to the brain.  There were two booths offering brownies.  The free brownies were made to look like dog poop.  Not at all appealing.  The brownies that were not free did LOOK more appealing and pleasing to the eye – but in reality had only been made to look that way but were rather dry.  In my personal experience whenever I have gone to luncheons or parties or such, overall the beautiful ones that appeal to the eyes don’t seem as tasty as the uglier brownies.    The dog poop looking brownies in reality were the better tasting brownie – and not just because they were free.  They were moist and gooey and everything you would expect from a great brownie. 

And it isn’t just brownies, it’s all desserts. I remember my mom ordering German Chocolate Pie one time.  To me it looked like someone had dumped a can of dog food on top the pie crust.  But, oh, it was delicious.  Turned out I really liked German Chocolate Pie!  I have learned that I can eat ugly food and enjoy it more than “eye appealing” food that seems to have more work invested into the presentation part and not so much the taste. 

Frosting can be fun or toppings – such as Voodoo doughnuts that seem to be the main contributing factor – much more important than what lies beneath.  Take the birthday cake that was presented at this morning’s Relief Society birthday party.  I guess I should have taken a picture but did not and so have this rough idea of what I saw.  Thick frosting over cupcakes meant to look like one big sheet cake.  I am more interested in the cake part than the frosting.  But this cake was dry.  Even with the ice cream I tried to combine it with.  In this case the cake was purchased solely on the presentation and not the taste. 

I think it quite unfair to make a product appeal to the eye and not have it designed for the mouth at all.  Ugly might not appeal to the eyes but if I like what I’m tasting, I would rather go with ugly that invests more into taste rather than just “eye candy”.