Comparison of consumer perception and liking of <Emphasis Type="Italic">bulgogi</Emphasis> marinade sauces between Korea and Japan using flash profiling

This study compared the perception of and preference for seven bulgogi marinade sauces between Korean and Japanese consumers. Flash profiling (10 panelists each) and consumer test (97 Japanese and 102 Koreans) were conducted. Results showed that both Korean and Japanese panelists perceived the samples similarly but described using different terms. There were significant crosscultural differences in most liking and just-about-right attributes, except texture liking and sweetness. Both consumer panelists preferred sweeter samples, but Japanese consumers rated liking for less sweet samples higher than Korean consumers. Japanese consumers considered strong saltiness, umami, and soy sauce flavor as “just-about-right,” whereas Korean consumers considered the same levels as “much too strong”. Familiarity showed a significantly positive correlation with both Korean and Japanese consumers’ liking, but authenticity was only significantly correlated with Korean consumers’ liking. This indicates that perception of authenticity might not have a strong impact on Japanese consumers’ liking.     

Increasing Oil Concentration Affects Consumer Perception and Physical Properties of Mayonnaise‐type Spreads Containing KCl

Reducing sodium intakes remains a global challenge for the food industry. KCl is a potential salt substitute but imparts bitterness when used at high concentrations. Little is known about how oil concentrations (OC) affect consumers’ perception of saltiness and bitterness in emulsion products such as mayonnaise containing KCl. We evaluated consumers’ perception and physical properties of mayonnaise‐type spreads at various oil and tastant (NaCl or KCl) concentrations. Consumers (N = 306) evaluated saltiness, bitterness, overall taste liking (OTL) and purchase intent (PI). Viscosity, pH, water activity, and consistency/texture were also measured. Oil and tastant (NaCl or KCl) concentrations had significant effects on saltiness, viscosity, and pH. As OC increased, saltiness intensity slightly decreased for spreads. Increasing oil concentration increased viscosity. Generally, spreads containing KCl had higher bitterness and pH than spreads containing NaCl. All spreads containing KCl were penalized for being “too bitter.” PI was affected by OTL for all spreads but OC was also a significant factor in the purchase decision of spreads containing NaCl. This study demonstrated that increasing OC affected consumers’ taste perception (saltiness and bitterness) and spreads’ physical properties including pH and viscosity.     

An itinerant sensory approach to investigate consumers' perception and acceptability at a food exhibition

In a food exhibition where several producers of the same product category are present at the same time, consumers usually have the opportunity to taste several free samples of the same product type, thus they can experience and compare the sensory characteristics of each and evaluate their liking for each sample tasted. This study assessed the potential of an itinerant sensory data collection in understanding the consumers' perception and acceptance of cheese during a multiple tasting experience at a food exhibition. Subjects tasted seven samples of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese aged for different times (24 and 36 months) at seven producer stands and recorded their evaluations using tablets, on which an application specifically developed for this study was installed. This evaluation situation was defined as “pseudo-natural,” in opposition to the “natural” and the “naturalistic” settings. The itinerant sensory session comprised a liking test, a rate-all-that-apply (RATA) test using a just about right (JAR) scale, a food pairing test, and a questionnaire. Consumers significantly (p < 0.05) discriminated the cheeses as a function of the aging time, describing with different attributes the 24 months (sweetness, fresh fruit, grass, yogurt, butter flavors, elasticity, and humidity) and the 36 months (saltiness, bitterness, sourness, spicy, aromatic herbs, cheese rind flavors, crumbliness, granularity, hardness, and hotness) aged products. The combined application of regression models, Penalty-Lift analysis, and decision tree models in investigating the relationships between liking and the RATA data, provided results revealing that the attributes elasticity, sweetness, humidity, fresh fruit, and butter were the main drivers of liking. Whereas, the attributes sourness, bitterness, and hardness were the main drivers of dislike. Therefore, even though no significant differences in terms of liking were observed among the tested cheeses, consumers preferred the attributes more frequently perceived in the least aged products. In conclusion, the presented itinerant sensory approach had provided meaningful information to understand the consumers' cheese perception and acceptability. In the future, it could advantageously be applied for studying food perception in other situations in which subjects naturally choose or consume several products while freely moving from one to another (e.g. self-service restaurant).     

Taste interaction of ethyl alcohol with sweet, salty, sour and bitter compounds

The influence of ethyl alcohol in concentrations ranging from 4 to 24%, on the perceived taste intensities of sucrose, citric acid, quinine, and sodium chloride was determined by 24 subjects. A paired comparison method was used in which subjects selected the sample with the greater taste intensity (sweetness, sourness, bitterness or saltiness) as well as rating the intensity on a 13-point scale. The alcohol generally enhanced the sweetness of sucrose, with results varying slightly according to the subjects' task. The sourness of citric acid, and the saltiness of sodium chloride at all but the lowest concentration, were depressed by increasing additions of alcohol. Alcohol significantly enhanced the bitterness of quinine at all four concentrations. Although these results disagree with previously reported electrophysiological measurements on alcohol-quinine mixtures, they were internally consistent, and meaningful in terms of alcoholic beverage consumption behaviour.     

Development of a deep multimodal hedonic recognition database for oral stimuli

The emotional reactions that certain products evoke (like or dislike) play a key role in the user acceptance or preference toward these products and influence the choice behaviors. Facial expressions constitute a primary channel to express and communicate emotions. In particular, the facial reactions evoked by certain stimuli are generated subconsciously, and they can be easily captured by video recording. However, it is challenging to quantify and objectively describe facial expressions. Until now, most implicit measurements based on facial expression analyses have been implemented considering “basic emotions”, which cannot directly represent like/dislike. How can we identify the affective state of consumers directly by using facial expression analysis technology? In this study, hedonic rating categories are defined based on the hedonic scale, and automatic facial expression analysis technology is applied to evaluate the suitability of the defined categories. Moreover, a visual multimodal facial database (RGB, depth, and infrared images) for the hedonic recognition of Asian individuals is constructed. A hybrid deep learning framework is employed to exploit the spatiotemporal information of the collected data to realize hedonic recognition. Early and late fusion strategies are used to investigate the suitability of the individual modalities and their complementarity. The experimental results indicate that the late fusion of the three modalities yielded the highest recognition accuracy compared to those obtained using individual modalities and the early fusion scheme. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of fusing different visual facial data and indicate that the use of multimodality-based facial expression analyses could enhance the accuracy of hedonic recognition.     

基于电子舌的氯吡脲对草莓风味影响的研究

在草莓“甜查理”盛花后一周,喷施清水及4个浓度（2.5、5.0、10、20 mg/L）的氯吡脲,检测由此产生的草莓果实可溶性固形物、总酸、游离氨基酸、单宁等风味营养品质含量,电子舌分析技术检测酸、甜、苦、鲜、咸、涩味、苦味回味、涩味回味等味觉指标,评价氯吡脲的使用及浓度水平对草莓风味营养品质和滋味的影响,并分析电子舌在检测氯吡脲对草莓滋味影响方面运用的优势。结果表明：氯吡脲能够提高草莓果实的可溶性固形物的含量,降低总酸含量,提高固酸比值,降低游离氨基酸种类和游离氨基酸总量;低浓度（2.5、5.0 mg/L）的氯吡脲处理能降低草莓单宁含量,而高浓度（10、20 mg/L）处理会使单宁含量显著升高;电子舌味觉分析结果表明低浓度氯吡脲处理可使草莓甜味增加,酸味降低,但是咸味和鲜味及与其高度相关（相关系数均为0.99）的苦味也相应降低;游离氨基酸总量与鲜味值、单宁含量与涩味回味值、总酸含量与酸味值、固酸比与甜味值均呈正相关性。低浓度氯吡脲使用对草莓的甜味、酸味等滋味和风味组成具有正面影响,而无论氯吡脲浓度使用高低对咸味和鲜味等滋味和风味组成均有负面影响。     

AGAR AND GELATIN GEL FLAVOR RELEASE

The taste suppression and rupture properties of 0.8-2.0% w/w agar gel and 3.0-6.5% w/w gelatin gel were studied by sensory evaluation and objective measurement. Flavor compound concentrations were determined to equalize the intensity of aspartame sweetness (0.02% w/w for both agar and gelatin gels), sodium chloride saltiness (0.9% w/w for agar gel and 0.2% w/w for gelatin gel), and caffeine bitterness (0.08% w/w for agar gel and 0.07% w/w for gelatin gel) in 1% w/w agar gel and 4.5% w/w gelatin gel. The coefficient of taste intensity = (concentration of flavor compound in the aqueous solution of equiintense taste in gel)/(concentration of flavor compound in gel) was used to compare the difference in gel taste suppression. The coefficient of saltiness intensity of 3.0% w/w gelatin gel exceeded 1.0, and those of other gels were below 1.0. The suppressed variation of the coefficient of saltiness intensity in agar gel was significantly (P<0.01) smaller than that of bitterness depending on agar concentration. No significant differences (P>0.05) in taste suppression between gelatin gels containing the 3 flavor compounds due to changes in gelatin concentration were observed. Rupture energy, which is related to mastication and is a common scale for agar and gelatin gels, was used to evaluate changes in suppression of the coefficient of taste intensities of the 2 gels. The coefficient of bitterness intensity of agar gels was more significantly (P<0.01) suppressed than sweetness and saltiness intensities of gelatin gels. The coefficient of sweetness intensity of gelatin gels was suppressed significantly less than bitterness (P < 0.05) of gelatin gels and sweetness (P < 0.05) and bitterness (P < 0.01) of agar gels.     

Odour–taste interactions: A way to enhance saltiness in low-salt content solutions

This study investigated odour–saltiness interactions in aqueous solutions. In a first experiment, 81 consumers indicated expected taste attributes for 86 labels of flavour related to common food items. Panellists were able to rate expected saltiness of food flavour evoked by food written items. Differences in expected saltiness were observed in relation to actual salt content of food. In experiment 2, we selected commercially available aromas corresponding to 14 of the salt-associated flavour labels found in experiment 1. Odour-induced saltiness enhancement was investigated for odours evoked by these aroma water solutions containing or not sodium chloride. Fifty-nine consumers rated odour and taste (bitterness, sourness, saltiness, and sweetness) intensity orthonasally and retronasally. Results showed that expected flavours could induce saltiness and enhance saltiness in solutions containing a low level of sodium chloride through odour-induced changes in taste perception. These results suggest that well selected odours could be used to compensate sodium chloride reduction in food.     

Sugar reduction in probiotic chocolate-flavored milk: Impact on dynamic sensory profile and liking

Reducing the sugar content of processed products has been claimed to be one of the most efficient strategies for decreasing sugar intake. The present work aimed at studying the influence of sugar reduction on the dynamic sensory profile and consumers' liking of probiotic chocolate-flavored milks using a novel temporal methodology, and to evaluate two alternatives (vanilla flavor and thaumatin) to attenuate the sensory changes caused by sugar reduction. Probiotic chocolate-flavored milks were formulated with different reductions in added sugar (0, 20, 40 and 60%). Vanilla flavor and thaumatin were added to the sugar-reduced samples at two concentrations. Samples were evaluated by trained assessors using Temporal check-all-that-apply (TCATA). Additionally, consumers evaluated the dynamic sensory profile of a subset of the samples using TCATA and indicated their overall liking using a 9-point hedonic scale. Results from the present work showed that the main effect of sugar reduction on the dynamic sensory profile of the probiotic chocolate-flavored milks was related to changes in sweetness, bitterness and thickness. A reduction in added sugar of 20% led to changes in sweetness intensity, which were perceived by both trained assessors and consumers. However, consumers' liking was not significantly affected by sugar reduction up to 40%. The addition of vanilla flavor at suprathreshold concentrations was not efficient in increasing sweetness perception in chocolate-flavored milks with the lowest sugar reduction percentage, suggesting that it may not be a feasible alternative for reducing sugar in this product category. These results suggest that in many situations sugar content of food products could be decreased without a relevant impact on consumers' sensory and hedonic perception.     

Interactions between umami and other flavor characteristics

Our understanding of the taste transduction mechanisms of umami substances is still in its infancy. However, evidence is now emerging that suggests that umami taste is perceived according to a receptor-mediated mechanism similar to those for sweet and bitter tastes. The synergistic interactions between glutamate and nucleotides appear to arise from an allosteric effect of nucleotides on a glutamate receptor. In some foods, umami substances appear to enhance the perceived sweetness or saltiness, or other flavor characteristics such as thickness and complexity, which may contribute to the ability of umami substances to improve overall palatability in certain foods.     

不同温度发酵无乳糖酸奶与普通酸奶差异性比较

通过检测无乳糖酸奶与普通酸奶的酸度、黏度、活菌总数及色泽、滋味和气味的变化,系统比较无乳糖酸奶和普通酸奶的差异性。分别采用37 ℃和42 ℃发酵制备无乳糖酸奶和普通酸奶,检测其发酵和贮存期间酸度、黏度及活菌总数的变化趋势,结合电子鼻、电子舌、电子眼技术检测气味、滋味、色泽的变化。结果表明：发酵期间无乳糖酸奶的酸度增速较普通酸奶快,黏度增加值大。发酵结束后,37 ℃发酵的无乳糖酸奶的乳酸菌数量是普通酸奶的3.50 倍;42 ℃发酵的无乳糖酸奶乳酸菌数量是普通酸奶的2.30 倍。37 ℃发酵酸奶以4094色号为主;42 ℃发酵酸奶以4095色号为主;贮存21 d,酸奶的主色号比例会发生显著性变化（P＜0.05）。37 ℃发酵的无乳糖酸奶与普通酸奶贮存1 d,鲜、甜、苦味存在显著性差异（P＜0.05）;贮存21 d,酸、甜、咸、鲜、苦味均出现显著性差异（P＜0.05）。42 ℃发酵的两种酸奶,贮存1 d时酸、甜、咸、苦味存在显著差异（P＜0.05）;贮存21 d时酸、甜、咸、鲜、苦味均出现显著性差异（P＜0.05）。此外,37 ℃发酵的无乳糖酸奶与普通酸奶在2,3-丁二酮、3-羟基-2-丁酮、乙醇、2-丁酮等气味成分上存在显著性差异（P＜0.05）;42 ℃发酵的两种酸奶在乙醇及2-丁酮上存在显著性差异（P＜0.05）;4 种酸奶在气味上均存在显著性差异（P＜0.05）。综上,不同温度发酵的酸奶之间存在显著性差异,且相同温度发酵的无乳糖酸奶和普通酸奶之间也存在显著性差异。     

Quality of Retail Florida-Packed Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice as Determined by Consumers and Physical and Chemical Analyses

Six commercial Florida-packed frozen concentrated orange juice samples drawn from the U.S. retail market on a monthly basis for 1 yr were evaluated for sensory attributes, color (by colorimeter), Brix, acid, and bottom pulp. Consumers rated flavor “like moderately” on a 9-point hedonic scale for every sample. The degree of sweetness and tartness of samples was “just right;” bitterness was somewhat excessive and color was somewhat too light (P < 0.05). Generally, as the °Brix to % acid ratio increased, the flavor improved, and the closer to “just right” was the degree of sweetness, tartness, and bitterness. A significant amount of bitterness was perceived as tartness or lack of sweetness (P < 0.01). Plant-to-plant variation was found in ratings of flavor and colorimeter color and °Brix to % acid ratios.     

Sensory lexicon and relationships among brown colour,saltiness perception and sensory liking evaluated by regular users and culinary chefs: a case of soy sauces

This study was performed to develop lexicon to describe soy sauces using regular users (consumers) vs. culinary chefs, to perform product grouping using a free-sorting task and to determine relationship among physicochemical properties (colour, %NaCl) and consumer perception of soy sauces. Both panels identified eighteen terms to describe soy sauces, of which eleven terms (light, medium and dark brown colour, weak, medium and strong saltiness, sweetness, saltiness–sweetness, tasty/umami, and soy sauce and fermented aroma) were similar. For culinary chefs, three distinctive soy sauce groups based on brown colour (light, medium and dark brown) were identified, while two groups (light and medium dark brown) for regular users. From free-sorting maps, both panels associated brown colour intensity with saltiness expectation/perception. From PCA biplots, both panels shared some similarities for sensory liking (colour, saltiness, flavour, overall liking) for soy sauces. This study suggested that brown colour intensities affected saltiness expectation/perception and were used for product grouping for soy sauces.     

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.     

Fatty Acid Compositions of Oil Species Affect the 5 Basic Taste Perceptions

ABSTRACT: To elucidate the effects of oils, particularly tuna oil, on taste perception, we conducted sensory analysis employing an oil-in-water emulsion prepared with basic taste substances and 3 oil species. Each type of oil extended perception retention, and did not affect sweetness or saltiness, but suppressed sourness and bitterness. Bitterness suppression was highest in tuna oil. Tuna oil also enhanced umami intensity. The results of individual fatty acid addition test were in good agreement with these effects of tuna oil. Thus, we proposed that tuna oil's specific fatty acid composition resulted in the specific taste effects of tuna oil.     

EFFECT OF HYDROCOLLOIDS ON ORAL VISCOSITY AND BASIC TASTE INTENSITIES *

Abstract. This study determined the effects of low concentrations of five food hydrocolloids on the taste intensities of aqueous solutions of sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, saccharin, and caffeine. The effects of the taste compounds on both oral and Brookfield viscosities were also measured. In general, sourness of citric acid and bitterness of caffeine were suppressed, while sweetness of saccharin was enhanced. Among the basic tastes, sourness was affected the most and saltiness the least. Except for sucrose, modification of taste intensity was independent of viscosity, and appeared to be related to the physicochemical properties of the hydrocolloid and the taste compound. About 16 cps were needed to reduce significantly the sweetness of sucrose. The taste compounds altered oral and physical viscosities differentially depending on the specific gum/taste combination. Generally, viscosity was reduced by the addition of all taste compounds except sucrose which increased the physical viscosity.     

Taste intensities of ten vegetables commonly consumed in the Netherlands

Bitterness has been suggested to be the main reason for the limited palatability of several vegetables. Vegetable acceptance has been associated with preparation method. However, the taste intensity of a variety of vegetables prepared by different methods has not been studied yet. The objective of this study is to assess the intensity of the five basic tastes and fattiness of ten vegetables commonly consumed in the Netherlands prepared by different methods using the modified Spectrum method. Intensities of sweetness, sourness, bitterness, umami, saltiness and fattiness were assessed for ten vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, leek, carrot, onion, red bell pepper, French beans, tomato, cucumber and iceberg lettuce) by a panel (n = 9) trained in a modified Spectrum method. Each vegetable was assessed prepared by different methods (raw, cooked, mashed and as a cold pressed juice). Spectrum based reference solutions were available with fixed reference points at 13.3 mm (R1), 33.3 mm (R2) and 66.7 mm (R3) for each taste modality on a 100 mm line scale. For saltiness, R1 and R3 differed (16.7 mm and 56.7 mm). Mean intensities of all taste modalities and fattiness for all vegetables were mostly below R1 (13.3 mm). Significant differences (p < 0.05) within vegetables between preparation methods were found. Sweetness was the most intensive taste, followed by sourness, bitterness, fattiness, umami and saltiness. In conclusion, all ten vegetables prepared by different methods showed low mean intensities of all taste modalities and fattiness. Preparation method affected taste and fattiness intensity and the effect differed by vegetable type.