Acquisition of liking for spinach products

This research investigated whether consumers acquire a liking for spinach through tasting it many times (repeated exposure) or in association with something which is better-liked (associative learning). The research focused on women who ate spinach infrequently or did not eat spinach at all, did not have a strong liking or disliking for spinach and were prepared to try the vegetable again. The experiment consisted of three phases; a pre-test, followed by a learning phase and finally a post-test. Two hundred and twenty-three consumers participated in a pre- and post-test evaluation of plain spinach at a central location. They were divided into five different groups for the learning phase, with approximately 40 consumers in each. A 'control' group of consumers was not given a product. The other consumers were given the same product (either peas, spinach type 1, spinach type 2 or a cream spinach recipe, containing cheese and spices) once a week for five weeks to prepare at home according to specified instructions and consume as an accompaniment to a hot meal. Acquisition of liking was found; repeated consumption of plain spinach did result in an increased liking for plain spinach overall (p = 0.02) and specifically for spinach dislikers (p < 0.05). At an overall level, flavour-flavour pairing effects were not demonstrated. However, consumers who initially disliked spinach showed an increased liking (p < 0.05) for spinach after having repeatedly eaten it in the learning phase as part of a recipe with cream, cheese and spices.