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Why Fall Colors Make You Hungry

We made it to fall! When the air starts to go crisp like apple cinnamon, we can’t help but think about how to fill our cornucopia with delicious fall favorites. Of course, it’s not just pumpkin-and-cranberry flavored everything that makes fall the season of food. Something about the autumnal colors is undeniably appetizing. After all, no sense is an island, and sights, sounds, and smells can all add to the sensation of taste... and our cravings for it. Color, therefore, plays a part in how hungry we get, and it just so happens that around this time, the changing leaves start to make things much more appetizing. Let’s see how fall hues are the colors of hunger.

You may not immediately associate the color black with fall, but as the anchor for the darker end of the spectrum, black is sort of the placemat for other colors to warm your heart and fuel your stomach. Jams, cheesecake, or rich mousses take on this decadent hue during fall. Also, if you’re not including blackberry pie on your dessert table during fall feasts, then you’re definitely missing out.

Brown shows up all over during the fall season. It acts as a base for the wonderful color palettes we see in the trees, and also in how we can tell when breads and meat start to get to just the right level of crispiness. Brown brings to mind perfectly glazed dinner rolls, a well basted turkey, and the crust of any variety of warm pies.

A full wash yellow may be a little too bright to be appetizing, but a perfectly placed splash of sun can brighten up any meal. Yellow leaves remind us of squash soup, hollandaise sauce, or even a nice banana cream pie topping it all off.

Orange is, psychologically speaking, the most appetizing color. That’s why it’s no wonder so many restaurants use it in their packaging and decor. Warm and bright, yet gentle at the same time, orange personifies the feeling of fall like no other. Interestingly, as appetizing as orange is, there aren’t many foods that are themselves orange, aside from sweet potato fries or select fruits and veggies. Perhaps that’s why we are so collectively obsessed with pumpkin everything this time of year. Especially pumpkin pie.

Red is the color that makes fall stand out. While the other colors remind us of the gentle warmth of family and upcoming holidays, red give a pop to the foliage and our meals alike that makes fall exciting. Stuffed red peppers are a fall classic, and no dinner party near Halloween is complete without a “bloody” red velvet cake. Although nobody goes wrong with a cherry pie either.

Fall into fall flavors.

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