From the latin laguage aperire, the word aperitif means “to open a meal”. Perhaps it would be better to say “prepare the stomach” to receive food. Yes, because, from the chemical point of view, scientific studies have shown that the substance (mostly bitter) contained in the most varied aperitifs, stimulate mouth taste receptors and promote gastric secretion of the stomach. Simply, they make you hungry. From the psychological point of view, moreover, the word aperitif is culturally linked to the prelude of a meal and this does nothing but increase the sensation of hunger caused by tasting a good aperitif.
Taste. Why do aperitifs make you hungry? The answer between chemistry and psyche
Discussion about this post