Time–intensity studies of astringent taste

The intensity of astringent taste was studied in wine, vermouth and other beverages during ingestion and for up to 100 s after swallowing, and the reproducibilities determined. Better reproducibility was observed of the same assessor on different days than between different assessors on the same day. Preprinted forms and mouse operated or touch-sensitive computer recording gave similar results. The residence time in the mouth influenced the maximum intensity and the rate of its decrease, which followed exponential relation. Solutions of tannic acid and catechin tasted more astringent in water than in wine or orange juice. Natural astringent substances in red wine or in tea infusion gave similar time dependence as model solutions. Sugar decreased the astringency in red wine, but quinine hydrochloride or additional ethanol had no pronounced effect.     

Does taste sensitivity matter? The effect of coffee sensory tasting information and taste sensitivity on consumer preferences

Product sensory information, an external cue, could greatly influence consumer enjoyment of hedonic products like coffee. The question is what type of sensory information, subjective (e.g., aroma, flavor and body) or objective (e.g., origin, varieties and production practices), has a higher impact on consumer product experience accounting for heterogeneous taste sensitivity. We examine this question using a between-subject experiment where participants were either given subjective, objective or no sensory information of a specialty coffee. Participants were classified as either supertasters or other tasters using the 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) paper strip. The results indicate that, compared to objective sensory information and no information, subjective sensory information results in a higher taste rating and a higher preference level for the coffee. More importantly, subjective information positively influences PROP supertasters’ purchase likelihood for coffee, without necessarily affecting their bitterness perception of the coffee tasted.     

A parametric model to average time–intensity taste data

Time–intensity (T–I) curves are often summarized by average curves. In this study, a different method is proposed. A parametric model is derived in which intensity is described by a continuous function of time. Using this model, an average curve may be calculated by averaging the parameters derived from adjusting the individual T–I curves to the model. The parameters of the model are related to onset time of response, maximum intensity of the response, time at which the curve starts to decline from maximum intensity, rate of onset and rate of decay of the response. The method was verified using experimental T–I curves obtained from measuring sweetness intensity of different sucrose solutions.     

Salty taste in dairy foods: can we reduce the salt?

Sodium can be found in many sources of the US diet. Dietary guidelines currently suggest a maximum intake of 2,300 mg of sodium (6 g of sodium chloride) per day, whereas the average consumer intake is 3,600 mg of sodium (9 g of sodium chloride) per day. The main health concern with high consumption of sodium is hypertension. The objectives of this study were to identify the salty taste intensity of sodium chloride in water and various dairy food matrices, and to identify the just-noticeable difference in concentration at which consumers noticed a decrease in salty taste in these food products. Solutions and food products (water, cheese sauce, cottage cheese, and milk-based soup) were prepared with sodium chloride ranging in concentration from 0.008 to 0.06 M. Seventeen panelists evaluated the salty intensity of each product in triplicate using a magnitude estimation scale. In subsequent tests, panelists (n = 50) evaluated salty intensity of these food products in separate sessions using an ascending force choice method to determine the just-noticeable difference. Consumer acceptance tests (n = 75 consumers) were conducted with cottage cheeses with and without sodium reductions and under conditions with and without health benefits of sodium reduction. The magnitude estimation scale data were log-transformed, and all data were analyzed by ANOVA with Fisher's least significant difference for means separation. The linear proportion of the power function in the salty taste intensity curve for sodium chloride solutions and the 3 foods was between 0.03 and 0.20 M. Consumers were able to notice and correctly identify reductions in salt concentration of less than 20% in all products. When consumers were informed of sodium reduction and its health benefits before tasting cottage cheese with lower sodium (4-12%), overall liking scores for the lower sodium cottage cheeses were not different from higher sodium cottage cheeses. These results suggest that reducing sodium in cheese sauce, cottage cheese, and milk-based soups may be challenging and that exploration of sodium chloride alternatives in these foods is warranted. Appropriate product positioning or advertising may be beneficial to consumer acceptance of lower sodium types of products.     

Consumer valuation of European nutritional and health claims: Do taste and attention matter?

Healthier eating and convenience are two important and often divergent aspects of contemporary diet patterns. With the intention of guiding consumers to make more informed food purchase decisions, policy makers, such as the European Union, emphasize the need to shift dietary patterns toward healthier food by introducing nutritional claims (NCs) and health claims (HCs). The purpose of this study is to (i) explore the impact of NCs and HCs on a healthy food product (yogurt), (ii) investigate consumer choices through a discrete choice experiment (DCE), (iii) examine the role of taste as a key food attribute influencing the purchase decision process, and (iv) explore the visual attention that consumers pay to NCs and HCs. The results from a generalized mixed logit model suggest that there is a relationship between the most highly valued NCs and HCs from the stated preferences and visual attention in terms of fixation count. This relationship affirms that the final product selection is based not only on the type of labeling on the package but also on the visual attention that consumers pay to it. Tasting a healthy food product resulted in negative utility, but greater visual attention attached to NCs and HCs and a lower percentage of attribute non-attendance (ANA).     

Aroma–taste interactions between a model cheese aroma and five basic tastes in solution

The flavour perception of cheese results from complex sensory interactions between tastes and aromas. Using a model cheese solution, this study investigated perceived interactions between each of five basic tastes and a cheese aroma mixture containing ten volatile compounds commonly found in cheese. The five tastes – sucrose (sweetness), sodium chloride (NaCl) (saltiness), monosodium glutamate (MSG) (umami), lactic acid (sourness), and caffeine (bitterness) – were individually mixed with cheese aroma in water using a 5 taste level (0.2 log series) by 3 aroma level (0.5 log series) design. Aroma controls with no added taste were also included. This resulted in 18 samples for each single taste–aroma combination. An additional 18 samples were produced using a mixture of all 5 tastes with the 3 aroma levels. A panel of trained assessors (n = 10) evaluated cheese flavour intensity and taste intensity using 100 point line scales. Evaluation was carried out in duplicate, with samples grouped by taste type; 1 evaluation session per taste per replicate. Within type, order of presentation was balanced, and taste type order was randomised between replicates. Cheese flavour intensity was enhanced by sucrose and NaCl, while being suppressed by lactic acid. NaCl enhanced cheese flavour intensity the most at high aroma level, while lactic acid suppressed the most at low aroma level. When MSG level was increased, cheese flavour intensity was enhanced at both low and medium aroma levels, but was suppressed at the high aroma level. The greatest enhancement of cheese flavour intensity was found with the mixture of 5 tastes. Aroma significantly enhanced umami and bitterness, but did not enhance sweetness, saltiness, or sourness. This study showed that the perceived interaction between taste and cheese aroma depended on taste type and on the concentration levels of both taste type and aroma. The mixture of tastes was more effective at enhancing cheese flavour intensity than single tastes. This study provides knowledge that will underpin further study of taste–aroma interactions in a model cheese that aims to optimise cheese flavour intensity and character.     

As wine experts disagree,consumers’ taste buds flourish: how two experts rate the 2004 Bordeaux vintage

In the rating of 184 2004 Bordeaux wines, Jancis Robinson (JR) and Robert Parker (RP) showed: complete agreement on only 71/184 or 39% of the wines; for 110 of the remaining 119 wines, RP assigned a higher rating than JR. RP scored: 51 wines as EXCELLENT that JR rated as ABOVE AVERAGE; 38 as ABOVE AVERAGE that JR scored as AVERAGE; 19 as EXCELLENT that JR scored as merely AVERAGE; and 2 wines as ABOVE AVERAGE that JR rated as BELOW AVERAGE. JR offers a plausible way for the consumer to make sense of the wine ratings of a given specialist, in the same way the consumer learns to ‘calibrate’ her/his subjective judgments to those made by designated experts in other fields of interest. Here Robinson [(1997). Tasting pleasure: Confessions of a wine lover. New York, NY: Penguin] treats expert judgments of wine as ‘…?every bit as subjective as the judging of any art form’. Recent enological research indicates that this message needs to be understood in a broader socio-economic framework that focuses upon other important variables that drive wine consumer purchases, such as prior tastings and recommendations from fellow wine drinkers.     

How does animal welfare taste? Combining sensory and choice experiments to evaluate willingness to pay for animal welfare pork

Although consumers show considerable interest in higher animal welfare, the market share for such products remains low. To provide consumers with a choice regarding different levels of animal welfare, animal welfare labels have been developed. Such product options are intended to serve as intermediate products between conventional products and more expensive organic options that are often associated with high animal welfare standards. This study aims to evaluate whether information about animal welfare practices affects consumers’ liking and willingness to pay (WTP) for a pork product. Using a within-subject design with three evaluation rounds (blind, expectation, and full information) we combine hedonic liking where subjects rate four different types of ham with a choice experiment. Hams differ in the animal husbandry conditions during the rearing and fattening process: conventional rearing, a specific treatment of mother sows, a general animal welfare label, and organic production. Results show an effect of information on consumers’ sensory evaluation of the different products, although products were evaluated to be similar in the blind condition. Consumers rated the organic product higher than those with animal welfare labels while the conventional option had the lowest liking scores. Results from the choice experiment concur with the hedonic rating. Estimates indicate that consumers are willing to pay more for ham bearing a general animal welfare or organic label in the expectation and full information condition. Consequently, information regarding animal welfare affects both consumers’ hedonic liking and WTP for ham.     

Effect of high-pressure treatment and a bacteriocin-producing lactic culture on the proteolysis, texture, and taste of Hispánico cheese

The effects of high-pressure treatment, by itself or in combination with a bacteriocin-producing culture added to milk, on the proteolysis, texture, and taste of Hispánico cheese were investigated. Two vats of cheese were manufactured from a mixture of cow and ewe milk. Milk in one vat was inoculated with 0.5% Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis INIA 415, a nisin Z and lacticin 481 producer; 0.5% L. lactis ssp. lactis INIA 415-2, a bacteriocin-nonproducing mutant; and 2% of a commercial Streptococcus thermophilus culture. Milk in the other vat was inoculated with 1% L. lactis ssp. lactis INIA 415-2 and 2% S. thermophilus culture. After ripening for 15 d at 12°C, half of the cheeses from each vat were treated at 400 MPa for 5 min at 10°C. Ripening of high-pressure-treated and untreated cheeses continued at 12°C until d 50. High-pressure treatment of cheese made from milk without the bacteriocin producer accelerated casein degradation and increased the free AA content, but it did not significantly influence the taste quality or taste intensity of the cheese. Addition of the bacteriocin producer to milk lowered the ratio of hydrophobic peptides to hydrophilic peptides, increased the free AA content, and enhanced the taste intensity. The combination of milk inoculation with the bacteriocin producer and high-pressure treatment of the cheese resulted in higher levels of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic peptides but had no significant effect on the free AA content, taste quality, or taste intensity.     

The trend of reduced hop‐content in Pilsner‐type beer in Germany. A change in taste?

A time series analysis of the development of bitterness units (BU) of a collective of 1,202 Pilsner beer samples analysed between 1983 and 2013 shows a small but statistically significant decline from values of around 30 BU in the 1980s to values of around 27 in the last years. The results confirm a trend to lower hopped Pilsner beers, which could derive from economic pressures on the breweries combined with a lack of regulations, or a change in consumer preference. So–called Pilsner beers with extremely low BU values are judged as a being misleading to the consumer, which is an offence against European food law. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling