Race Differences in Selection of Cheese Color

Preferences for specific foods and colors vary greatly in humans. There are many explanations to account for this variation, but no one factor has been pinpointed as major. It has been suggested that family experience (3), the color of an item (21, and aesthetics (1) all play a part in accounting for the variation of food and color preference. This study investigated color preference in food as related to the race of the individuals. White and yellow American cheese was presented to 155 individuals from three ethnic groups. In Group 1 were 30 (11.79;) black individuals, in Group 2 197 (77.3%) white persons, and in Group 3 28 (11 %) people from various other ethnic backgrounds, including mostly Hispanics. The parr~cipans ranged in age from 11 to 72 yr. A control group of 20 people was also tested to ensure equ~valence of the taste of the two colors of American cheese. In a supermarket, a display table was set with two plates of American cheese, one yellow, one white. As the individuals selected a piece of cheese, the grouping and the color of the chosen cheese was recorded. The control subjects were blindfolded and asked to sample both types of American cheese. They were to identify which was yellow American cheese and which was white. Their responses were recorded. The frequencies for color preference were as follows: 9 black individuals (30%) chose white and 21 (70%) chose yellow cheese, 105 white participants (53.3%) chose white, while 92 (46.7%) chose yellow. Of the subjects from other ethnic backgrounds, 9 (32.2%) preferred white and 19 (67.9%) preferred yellow cheese. The association between type of individual and choice of cheese color for these groups was statistically significant (X% 872, df = 2, p .O5). These data indicate that the preferences for one of two colors of American cheese are dissimilar for different races of respondents. The data from the blindfolded control subjects established that this variation is not based on difference in flavor. It is assumed, then, that the difference in color between the two cheeses influenced the selection of the cheese and that perhaps by knowing the racial group of individuals, one might partially predict this choice.