According to the Ananova news service, people enjoy foods for their crunch as much as they do for their taste. Scientists at the University of Leeds found that people’s “enjoyment of biting” increased with louder, crunchier foods.

How did they figure this out? Well, they used a type of ultrasound to measure the amount of noise the foods gave off as they were being eaten. And the noisier they were, the higher volunteers rated the foods’ “enjoyment level”. The volunteers tasted snacks like crunchy apples, cookies and crispy French fries. And they found that people enjoyed biting into the apples the most!

Lead researcher professor Malcolm Povey says when it comes to the PLEASURE of eating, sound is as important as color and taste. When you munch on something crunchy, it creates massive peaks of ultrasound in your head that you experience as an enjoyable vibration sensation.  So, if you want to really enjoy your next snack, reach for something crunchy! Of course, an apple is a much better option than a bag of chips.