Are you convinced that pizza tastes better when you buy it by the slice? For some reason, when we buy our pizza one slice at a time, many of us enjoy it more. If we buy the same pizza as a whole pie, it’s not as enjoyable. How can the same pizza taste different? Why does pizza by the slice taste so much better? There is a fascinating intersection of food science and sensory psychology at play. From the influence of reheating to the dopamine effects of the first bite, here are some practical and psychological reasons why the reheated slice is the ultimate version of everyone’s favorite comfort food.
The First Slice vs. The Last Slice of Pizza
It’s a well-known phenomenon: The first bite of food tastes better than the last. The first serving is better, and, of course, the first slice of pizza tastes the best. So, if you buy a whole pizza, you will enjoy the first slice the most. After that, your enjoyment will diminish as you continue eating.
First Bite Dopamine
Eating, in general, is associated with dopamine release in the brain. The enjoyment of food is directly related to the amount of dopamine released. Foods that we deem more enjoyable cause a greater dopamine release than food we don’t enjoy. Of course, dopamine itself is tied to our perceptions of enjoyment, so a blunted dopamine response could cause us to enjoy food less. This may, contrary to expectations, cause us to eat more instead of less, as we seek the enjoyment we expect. Food is culturally tied to pleasure for human beings, after all.
Regardless, as we continue eating and become sated, dopamine release is reduced. Therefore, the first bite of food is associated with more pleasure than the last bite. If you only buy one or two slices of pizza and don’t gorge yourself, your overall perception of enjoyment could be more favorable. With a whole pizza, your first slice of a whole pizza tastes better than the rest, and your enjoyment will tend to decrease as you continue eating. You then rate the experience not based on how much you enjoyed the first slice or the first few bites but on the overall experience. It’s quite possible that if you force down the last slice and are at that point “tired of the pizza” you may rate the entire experience based on the final negative perception.
When you only buy one slice, you have a different and more pleasurable experience, in general, so you remember it differently and thus rate it differently.
The Influence of Reheating the Pizza Slice
Still, there are practical reasons. When pizza is sold by the slice, the pizza sits around and may develop flavors that appeal more to some people. The whole pizzas are usually displayed in visually appealing rows under bright lights. They then reheat the pizza slice before giving it to you, and the reheating process might make it taste better, or make the crust crispier, etc.
Of course, a hot slice of pizza doesn’t have a chance to cool down or change much as you eat it, whereas a whole pizza will, therefore affecting your enjoyment. The fact that a whole pizza does not remain hot the entire time you eat it, however, simply underscores the point made above: A whole pizza may not be enjoyable throughout the experience.
The Influence of Variety: More Than One Pizza Topping Combination
If you are able to buy a couple of slices of pizza with two different toppings, that may seem better, since you are able to experience different flavors. It’s much more exciting to be able to sample both a sausage and a veggie pizza, for example, than a sausage alone.
The Influence Of Guilt
If you are watching your caloric intake or you think that pizza, being a high-fat food, is generally unhealthy, then buying a whole pizza may invoke negative thoughts and emotions. Therefore, only indulging in one or two slices may be deemed as more acceptable and therefore more enjoyable, if your eating experience is not weighed down by guilt for eating too much of an unhealthy food.
More Value For Your Money
When pizza is sold by the slice, the slices are often huge compared to the slices you would get from a whole pizza. This influences perceptions of value. Is it possible you are saving money by buying pizza one slice at a time? Yes, although the savings, if present, are very slight and greatly influenced by the number of toppings. While you may save a few pennies by paying $2.50 for a large slice of pizza from a 20-inch pie, most of the value perception is visual, rather than actual.
Pizza By the Slice is Sometimes More Convenient
All this is assuming that a person enjoys pizza by the slice more. Not everyone will agree. There is, however, a general perception that pizza by the slice is better, suggesting that many people share this common experience. No doubt many will report the opposite and say a whole pizza is better, or say it doesn’t make a difference.
Your own attitude will undoubtedly be influenced by circumstances at any one time. If you are on the go, then a slice of pizza would be deemed more appropriate than a whole pizza. If you have just left work and want to eat in the comfort of your own home, then a whole pizza may seem quite superior. You needs and intentions at any one time influence your attitudes about what kind of pizza to buy, by the slice or whole.
