Cookie Lab
Overview
Cookie Lab is a participatory sensory station that uses unconventionally flavored cookies to explore the interplay between taste, smell, and perception.
Did you know that 70-80% of what we call "flavor" actually comes from smell? Without it, food has little to no taste, which is why we often "lose our sense of taste" during a cold. Cookie Lab taps into cross-modal perception to highlight this universal human biology. It invites participants to reflect on how sensory experiences shape our perception of ourselves and the world—a fundamental, yet often unnoticed, process of our brains constructing reality.
Role
Solo project (but received help from many)
Tools
Arduino, Air pumps, Acrylic enclosures, Paper mache
Inspired by
Prof. Takuji Narumi, from Tokyo University, and his virtual cookie experiments.
Exhibition
NYU ITP Winter Show _ Dec 2023
Museum of Food and Drink(MOFAD) _ 10/31/2024 - 11/7/2024 & 12/17-2924 - Ongoing
The Experience
After introduction, participants are asked to take three cookies, one from each jar in the control stations. Then, their vision and hearing become obstructed by a hood, which is connected to the flavor delivery system, an exhaustion fan, and a speaker. Participants press the buttons to start the experiment, eating one cookie at a time based on an audio guidance.Three different scents are released into the hood in synchronization with tasting the cookie - constructing the perception of eating 3 different cookies.
Three scents are chosen and arranged to invite and intrigue:
1. Chocolate chip: a familiar and sweet scent used to introduce the process.
2. Garlic: mostly associated with savory foods, the scent of garlic is unexpected and creates the perception of a saltier/ more savory cookie compared to the first one.
3. Fresh-cut grass: pleasant yet not associated with food. The refreshing grassy scent creates the perception of a fruitier, juicier cookie.
