Table 1.

How vegetables influence taste perceptions of a meal^†

	Pasta with meatballs and bread		Pasta with meatballs, bread and zucchini
	(n 250)		(n 250)
	Mean	sd	Mean	sd	F test	P value
Tasty main dish	7·60	1·39	7·85	1·29	4·16	0·04
Complete meal	6·25	2·28	8·15	1·13	137·60	<0·001
Loving meal	7·40	1·47	7·91	1·30	16·49	<0·001
Tasty meal	7·58	1·41	7·86	1·38	5·11	0·02
Nutritious	6·26	1·76	7·57	1·37	86·06	<0·001
	Steak and baked potato		Steak, baked potato and broccoli
	(n 250)		(n 250)
	Mean	sd	Mean	sd
Tasty main dish	7·68	1·66	7·99	1·36	5·00	0·03
Complete meal	5·40	2·54	8·05	1·56	197·99	<0·001
Loving meal	7·00	1·71	7·92	1·5	40·90	<0·001
Tasty meal	7·52	1·63	8·08	1·37	17·34	<0·001
Nutritious	6·13	1·78	7·80	1·43	135·12	<0·001
	Burritos, beans, rice and tortilla chips		Burritos, beans, rice and mixed vegetables
	(n 250)		(n 250)
	Mean	sd	Mean	sd
Tasty main dish	7·23	1·82	7·19	1·76	0·05	0·82
Complete meal	6·48	2·38	7·74	1·55	49·71	<0·001
Loving meal	6·98	1·86	7·45	1.71	8·69	0·03
Tasty meal	7·21	1·84	7·40	1·71	1·41	0·24
Nutritious	5·98	2·08	7·41	1·42	80·67	<0·001
	Baked chicken with wild rice and ice cream for dessert		Baked chicken with wild rice and green beans
	(n 250)		(n 250)
	Mean	sd	Mean	sd
Tasty main dish	7·30	1·58	7·74	1·47	10·22	0·001
Complete meal	5·72	2·5	8·32	1·00	231·28	<0·001
Loving meal	7·08	1·68	7·95	1·31	41·17	<0·001
Tasty meal	7·25	1·58	7·70	1·53	10·51	0·001
Nutritious	6·45	1·80	8·26	1·05	187·79	<0·001

^†Ratings on 9-point scales which refer to specific descriptions of the meal and range from 1 = ‘not a very…’ to 9 = ‘a very…’, assessing the impact of the addition of a vegetable on perceptions of meal combinations among 500 American mothers, with at least two children under the age of 18 years living at home, who participated in an online survey, September 2011.