We tend to think of taste as something that simply happens on our tongues, but it’s a surprisingly complex experience. Much of what we perceive as taste is processed in the brain; our senses, habits, and even the utensils and dishes we use can all influence how we perceive taste. This means you don’t need to restock your pantry or overhaul your kitchen tools to boost your food’s flavor. With just a few simple adjustments, you can bring out the best in the foods you already love. Here are some simple tips that can help enhance the taste of your food.

Some Foods Taste Better at Room Temperature

Studies have found that temperature plays a surprisingly crucial role in how we perceive flavor. Some foods, for instance, really do taste better at room temperature, around 68 to 74 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The science behind the correlation between temperature and taste isn’t fully understood, but researchers do have some theories. Receptors such as TRPM5, a protein found in the taste buds, become more active at warmer temperatures — although if food gets too hot, the subsequent burning sensation may overwhelm taste.

Similarly, extremely cold temperatures may dull our perception of certain tastes and textures such as sweetness or creaminess. Ice cream, for instance, is just cold enough to be pleasantly sweet without freezing our taste buds, but when melted, it can become almost sickly sweet. 

Taste is also impacted by flavor compound concentrations (the amount of specific taste molecules present in a food or beverage), which part of the tongue is stimulated, and aromas, which are less potent in chilled foods.

Because of this, many foods taste best at room temperature. Cheese, especially soft varieties such as brie, should be at room temperature for best consistency and flavor, otherwise they can taste a bit bland. Cured meats, too, take on a richer flavor when their fat content is allowed to soften at room temperature. Of course, don’t forget to be mindful of food safety — the FDA doesn’t recommend letting perishable food sit out for more than two hours at a time.

Cups and Cutlery Make a Difference

Unless you’re hosting a dinner party, you may not give much thought to what you’re eating with or drinking out of, but the cutlery and cups you use can impact how your meal tastes. But resist the urge to pull out the fancy old-fashioned silver flatware; silver can sometimes react with food and impart a mild metallic taste. In fact, the — ahem — gold standard for a pleasant eating experience is using utensils made of the very inert (aka chemically inactive) gold, but the tried and true stainless steel is also quite neutral. Both can ensure you’re tasting the best possible version of your meal — minus the taste of the tools you use to eat it.

And as it turns out, sticklers about using the proper wine glass are right: Glasses are carefully designed to enhance aroma and flavor. Red wine glasses usually have a larger, rounder bowl to allow more room for swirling and let in more air, which helps soften tannins — the naturally astringent compounds found in grape skins, seeds, and stems. This also releases more aroma, and as we know, aroma is closely tied to taste. On the other hand, white wines tend to have more delicate aromas, so the more narrow bowl helps preserve those while also keeping the temperature cooler, which is optimal for white wines. 

Variety Keeps Your Taste Buds on Their Toes

You may have noticed that when you’ve eaten enough to feel sufficiently full, you still crave a little something extra — often, something sweet. This is thanks to a phenomenon known as sensory-specific satiety. As we consume more of a particular dish, our response to that flavor diminishes, making that food less appealing. But this isn’t usually the case for a secondary flavor, which is why after you’ve had your fill of pasta, you may still be craving a slice of cake. 

One 2025 study suggests we crave the dopamine-driven reward response of sugary desserts, which hijacks our internal satiety indicators and overrides our fullness. Some researchers suggest this is an evolutionary adaptation, one that once ensured our ancestors ingested adequate calories and nutrients from different foods. It explains why even when a person tires of eating plain french fries, they may happily eat more if offered some ketchup to dip them in. This need for variety may also explain why many of us enjoy charcuterie boards and other such dishes that offer us a range of foods to pick and choose from.

Let Leftovers Linger

You’re not imagining it — some foods really do taste better the next day. Dishes such as chillies, curries, and stews — ones rich in aromatics such as onion, garlic, or herbs — often develop deeper, richer flavors after sitting in the fridge overnight. That’s because cooling and reheating gives certain ingredients time to mingle. The chemical reactions that begin during the cooking process don’t just stop once the heat turns off; they slow down and evolve. As the food rests, flavors from the various spices, fats, and proteins continue to blend, often making for a more well-rounded flavor over time.

In meat-based dishes specifically, collagen continues to break down into flavor-holding gelatin that gets redistributed throughout the dish. When making rich, seasoned sauces, spices including black pepper, cloves, and nutmeg dissolve best in fats such as oil, cream, or coconut milk, so as their flavors continue to spread, the taste becomes more potent. 

Of course, not all foods improve as leftovers — dressed salad is better off finished or tossed before it wilts into mush, while mashed potatoes or other starchy foods, though not bad, undergo a process called retro-gradation that causes the waters to separate and the food to dry out. It’s also important to remember that leftovers should only be kept for three to four days and frozen if they’re not finished by then.

Chew Slowly and Breathe Deeply

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that food just tastes better when we’re hungry. But as tempting as it is to eat as quickly as possible in that state, chewing slowly and breathing deeply will make the experience even more enjoyable. That’s because taste isn’t just about your tongue; it’s also about your nose. The aromas of food reach your nose best through what’s called retronasal olfaction — essentially, smelling from the inside out as you chew and breathe. As you exhale, the aromatic food molecules released when you chew are swept up to your nasal cavity where you can smell them. Eating and breathing too quickly or erratically means more of those flavorful particles are lost to the lungs instead of reaching your nose.