3 min read- On a recent episode of SNACKS!, chef Tom Colicchio said he wouldn’t even try Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Cheetos.
- He explained that snack foods are hard to stop eating because they have the ideal ratio of sugar, salt, and fat. This ratio is called the “bliss point.”
- Experts explain what the bliss point is, how to navigate it when enjoying snacks, and how to recreate it in your own kitchen.
What if there was a perfect formula for creating food so craveable and delicious that no one could stop eating it? Spoiler alert: there is. It’s called the bliss point.
First coined in the mid-1990s by researcher Howard Moskovitz, the “bliss point” is the reason we find ourselves eating a whole can of Pringles, plowing through an entire pint of ice cream, or crushing a bag of Cheetos in one sitting. It’s also the reason that chef Tom Colicchio refused to even try Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Cheetos on a recent episode of SNACKS!.
But what exactly is this perfect formula, and can we harness it in our own home kitchens to one-up our cooking?
What’s The “Bliss Point”?
The “bliss point” is a term largely used by the food industry to help them dial in the precise amounts of sugar, salt, and fats (among other ingredients) in their products. According to Jessica Gavin, certified culinary scientist, when all these elements are perfectly calibrated, it results in “a product that tastes ‘just right’ to most people,” maximizing pleasure and overall enjoyment. And when it’s combined with crunch? It can make food incredibly addictive.
For the past 30 years, food manufacturers have used this concept to make their products more enjoyable (and addictive) for consumers. “They know exactly how much [salt, fat, and sugar] to put in to keep you eating,” Colicchio says on SNACKS!. Gavin agrees: “That combination can activate dopamine, making the food feel more pleasurable and reinforcing the desire to keep eating.” If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how you could have possibly finished that whole sleeve of crackers in one sitting, you know what she’s talking about.
Is The “Bliss Point” Dangerous?
When was the last time you only ate one chip out of the bag? Or stopped after one Oreo? There are obvious health dangers at play when ultra-processed, non-nutritive food is calibrated to be so addictive.
So how do we handle this? Tom Colicchio’s solution is to avoid that ultra-processed food altogether. “If I have one, I’ll eat the whole bag,” he says. “So I just don’t go there.” Gavin takes a more pragmatic approach. “You don’t have to avoid these foods completely,” she says. “However, being aware of how they’re designed can help you enjoy them in moderation.”
In short? Know yourself. If you have the self-control to stop after a single serving (and realize that the food is engineered to be incredibly craveable), you have nothing to worry about. But if you, like Colicchio, have concerns about your ability to stop, you might want to think twice about reaching for the bag in the first place.
Finding The Bliss Point In Your Own Kitchen
While the “bliss point” can lead to scientifically addictive food in the hands of food manufacturers, it’s not inherently a bad thing. As a recipe developer and home cook, I’m constantly trying to dial in the flavors in my cooking so they’re the perfect balance of sweet and salt, tangy and rich. I am also chasing the bliss point—but in a completely different way—using whole ingredients rather than chemicals. And that’s a chase that every home cook can join. Gavin agrees with me: “It may take time to understand the flavor profiles of different ingredients and adjust recipes,” she says, “but as you cook more, you learn how to use natural flavors and textures to your advantage.”
While I’m cooking, I always make a point of tasting throughout the process and again at the end of the cook. Is it sweet enough? Does it need a little more salt to make those flavors pop? Is it feeling a little salty—could it benefit from a little more fat to round everything out? I also keep in mind that salt, sugar, and fat come in many forms. Salt can come from soy sauce, Parmesan cheese, and more, and there are also many ways to introduce sugar, including through honey, fruit, and condiments such as BBQ sauce and ketchup. And fat isn’t just oil or butter—it can come from a creamy cheese, coconut, or avocado. With a little practice and a lot of tasting, we can all find that “bliss point” in our own kitchens.
