Eli5: Why does a food served at a certain temperature (hot, like coffee, or cold, like ice cream) taste completely different than the same food at the opposite temperature?

Question

Eli5: Why does a food served at a certain temperature (hot, like coffee, or cold, like ice cream) taste completely different than the same food at the opposite temperature?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Cold food is colder. It will be thicker (affecting texture), have less smell, and have less flavour as the food molecules move more slowly.

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Hot food is hotter. It will be thinner (affecting texture), have more smell, and more flavorful (for better or worse) as the food molecules move more quickly.

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All of these things affect the way they taste. Try eating warm ice cream. You will realize how absurdly sweet it is. When it is cold we can’t taste it as much so we are able to drench it with sugars and fats.

Answer 2

Hot is hot cold is cold?