What does grey taste like?

In a story in Sunday's New York Times Business section, Gardiner Harris wrote,

 "Without the artificial coloring FD&C Yellow No. 6, Cheetos Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks would look like the shriveled larvae of a large insect. Not surprisingly, in taste tests, people derived little pleasure from eating them.
"Their fingers did not turn orange. And their brains did not register much cheese flavor, even though the Cheetos tasted just as they did with food coloring.
"'People ranked the taste as bland and said that they weren't much fun to eat,' said Brian Wansink, a professor at Cornell University and director of the university's Food and Brand Lab.
"Naked Cheetos would not seem to have much commercial future. Nor might some brands of pickles. The pickling process turns them an unappetizing grey. Dye is responsible for their robust green.
"'Color is such a crucial part of the eating experience that banning dyes would take much of the pleasure out of life,' said Kantha Shelke, a food chemist and spokeswoman for the Institute of Food Technologists. Indeed, color often defines flavor in taste tests. Color creates a psychological expectation for a certain flavor that is often impossible to dislodge, Dr. Shelke said.
"'Color can actually override the other parts of the eating experience,' she said in an interview."

This is a blip from bookofjoe, the best blog on the planet.

For years, I closed my eyes when I am chewing so I do not see other people wasting food.   It is an interesting process chewing without using one of the senses.  It all started when Bobby would challenge me to eat some concoction he brewed up during lunch hour.  Mrs. Magee, the hair net wearing ray of sunshine lunch lady would give us anything we wanted because she hated thin children to pass her station.  I would get  hot rolls most of the time and Bobby always got everything he could carry.  He ate like a bird so he was always feeding me the mess on his plate.  Who knew, Peas and carrots would go with mashed taters and the brown stuff they called gravy.  Milk mixed with apple crisp and green beans was always a delight.  I remember Bob Deeb mixed everything from two peoples lunches in a big gray heap and Principle Bob made him eat it.  He had his eyes very tightly closed for that and held his nose while the tears were flowing.  That was the first time I heard "It all gets mixed up inside anyway". 

I wonder how it would be for someone to feed me, while I wear ear plugs, close my eyes and in a room where the food was the same temperature as the air.  Only taste would rule.  Let the games begin.