[machinagod]

I've read recently the book that the article references - Why Humans like Junk food - and it's a fascinating read - despite being poorly written.

Putting theories behind food appreciation, like Vanishing Caloric Density, the Umami flavor (MSG, garlic and Friends) and flavor familiarity (vanyloids are present in breast milk) - on the context of foods your familiar with, changes your perspective when you're tasting any kind of food, allowing you to deconstruct what are you experiencing: "Ho, I like this because it's greasy, and it salty, and it has loads of umami from the garlic".

It allowed me to deconstruct a common action, changing it from an immediate appreciation to a more rational, pondered thought process.

[samatman]

Reminding me of my favorite hunger hack: got into kitchen, chop onion or press garlic, toss into oil, fry. In ten seconds, I go from "dinner sounds like a hassle" to rooting through the cupboards, salivating madly.