Food in human societies is not merely a biological or nutritional act; it is a cultural, sensory, and meaning-laden phenomenon closely linked to memory, identity, and lived experience. This study adopts a neuroanthropological approach to examine how food choice perception emerges at the intersection of sensory memory, cultural habits, and embodied experience. The research field is Babolsar, Mazandaran, a context characterized by the persistence of local food traditions, the expansion of modern dietary patterns, and encounters with culinary tourism.

Data were collected using a qualitative design through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 45 participants divided into three groups: (1) local–familial individuals involved in preparing and consuming traditional foods, (2) residents following modern dietary patterns and frequent fast-food consumers, and (3) tourists experiencing cultural and dietary displacement in Mazandaran. Participants were purposively sampled until theoretical saturation was reached. Data analysis was conducted thematically, drawing on grounded theory principles.

Findings, organized into five main themes, reveal that food choice is not solely a rational or biological process but the outcome of complex interactions among sensory memory, embodied habits, emotions, and cultural meaning-making. Traditional foods function as carriers of intergenerational memory and identity stability, whereas modern foods are primarily associated with immediate pleasure and daily convenience. Tourists’ experiences highlight sensory disruption, which fosters reflection and reinterpretation of food meaning.

This study, by bridging neuroscience, food anthropology, and cultural studies, provides a deeper understanding of food culture and lived experience in a local Iranian context.