[Feeling like a snack. The influence of taste on our eating habits]

This article describes the physiological, social and emotional aspects of food. Human physiology determines 'the need' for food, society 'the possibilities' and our emotions 'the choice'. Grazing is becoming a common phenomenon in modern society: the frequent eating of snacks between meals, or even instead of meals. One of the consequences is an increasing dental risk, due to repeated acid attacks on the enamel. For a better understanding of these changing eating habits and the emotional values of food, the Dutch centre for the research of taste (CSO) has developed the so-called 'Taste-Cube'. This cube attaches human values to different types of food. The value of a product is created by the consumer, according to his 'internal logic'. In this article these concepts are explained.