Maadarani Circular Tasting Theory: A New Cognitive and Perceptual Study in Understanding Flavor

For this reason, the theory considers that the true balance of food is measured by its ability to manage sensory transformations smoothly and to preserve the connection of the perceptual cycle from beginning to final trace, so that the taster feels that all stages of flavor belong to one integrated experience rather than to separate or competing signals.

Psychological Emotion and Its Influence on the Sensory Cycle

Tasting cannot be understood as a purely biological process, because the food experience is deeply connected to the psychological and emotional state of the human being. For this reason, Circular Tasting Theory considers psychological emotion not as an external factor that affects food secondarily, but as a fundamental part of the sensory cycle itself. Flavor interacts with feelings, memories, and expectations to shape the taster’s final experience.

When a person eats a particular food, he or she does not respond only to chemical signals coming from the tongue and nose. The brain places these signals within a broader emotional and psychological context. Food may evoke comfort, nostalgia, joy, or aversion. Some flavors may be connected to previous experiences that make their effect stronger or weaker than their direct physical reality.

Flavor is therefore not perceived in a completely neutral way. It always passes through the taster’s “psychological filter.” This explains why judgment of the same dish may differ according to mood, environment, or personal experience, even when the food’s components remain unchanged.

The theory proposes the concept of Emotional Flavor Response. This is the stage in which flavor shifts from a sensory feeling into an emotional experience connected to the inner awareness of the human being. At this stage, food becomes capable of activating complete psychological states, and the value of flavor may increase because of its association with reassurance, memory, identity, or belonging.

Psychological state also affects the speed of the sensory cycle itself. A calm and focused taster is often able to notice deeper and more complex flavor layers. Psychological tension or mental distraction, however, reduces the ability to follow the subtle transformations of food. Thus, the quality of tasting depends not only on the quality of the dish, but also on the perceptual state of the taster.

In some highly professional food designs, psychological effect is deliberately used within the construction of the sensory experience. Certain aromas may be used to create warmth, specific colors may strengthen the sense of freshness, and carefully controlled temperatures may evoke comfort or surprise. In such cases, food becomes closer to an “integrated emotional experience” than to a mere food substance.

Circular Tasting Theory also observes that psychological emotion becomes more influential in the later stages of the sensory cycle, especially during aromatic rebound and the final aftereffect. In these moments, the brain begins to reinterpret the experience more deeply, allowing flavor to become a memory or a long-lasting sensation that goes beyond the immediate moment.

Interestingly, the value of some foods is not measured only by the strength of taste, but by their ability to create a lasting psychological effect. A dish may be technically simple yet leave a profound emotional impact because of its connection to feelings, cultural identity, or the human meaning associated with it.

Thus, the theory affirms that true tasting does not occur in the tongue alone. It occurs within a complex system in which physical sensation, psychological emotion, memory, and awareness intersect, transforming flavor into an integrated human experience that moves through mind, feeling, and time at once.

The Philosophy of Flavor in Circular Tasting Theory

Circular Tasting Theory does not view flavor as a mere chemical result of the interaction between food and the senses. Rather, it considers flavor a perceptual and philosophical phenomenon that expresses the deep relationship between human beings and the food experience. According to this view, flavor is not a fixed thing that can be reduced to a simple sensory equation. It is a changing experience that carries temporal, psychological, and cultural dimensions extending beyond the material substance itself.

Human beings do not eat only for survival. They search within food for meaning, comfort, belonging, and wonder. Flavor therefore becomes part of the human experience. It can evoke memory, move emotions, and build a sense of personal and cultural identity. Food thus changes from a “consumer product” into a “sensory language” that expresses the human being, his history, and his awareness.

The theory holds that flavor is not a rigid entity, but a “perceptual movement” that changes continuously during tasting. Any attempt to fix taste or reduce it to a final description oversimplifies the nature of the sensory experience. True flavor is not understood in one moment. It is discovered gradually through time, like an idea, a piece of music, or an emotional experience whose layers unfold with continuity.