Objectives: Malnourishment is common in older adults, and nutritional supplementation is used to improve body weight and well‐being. Clinical reports suggest, however, that patients routinely reject sip‐feeds. The present study examined the following questions: whether sip‐feeds are less preferred and less likely to be selected than other energy‐dense foods in healthy elders; and whether eating alone further reduces intake relative to eating in a social setting.Methods: Twenty‐one healthy older adults (aged 60‐79 years) attended the laboratory on three occasions. Subjects rated six different flavours of sip‐feed and then rated the pleasantness of the taste of the favoured flavour against five other energy‐dense familiar foods/drinks. Intake of these foods was measured when subjects ate alone or in a group of familiar others.Results: Favourite flavour of sip‐feed compared well with other more familiar foods and was selected as part of a snack. Snack intake increased by 60% when consumed in a group setting compared with eating alone.Conclusions: The study suggests that sip‐feeds are rated as pleasant and selected by free‐living elders. Rejection of sip‐feeds in hospitalized elders may relate more to loss of appetite than to the taste preference for sip‐feeds, and that eating alone rather than in groups of familiar others is likely to