The importance of liking of appearance, -odour, -taste and -texture in the evaluation of overall liking. A comparison with the evaluation of sensory satisfaction

The response variable of overall liking is often used to measure consumers’ overall hedonic response to food. However, little research is done to understand, if liking of all four sensory modalities; appearance, odour, taste and texture, are reflected in the evaluation of overall liking, or if a single sensory modality stands out and is of most importance. The term sensory satisfaction was recently introduced as an alternative to overall liking and should (at least in theory) be used by consumers as a more holistic response variable than overall liking. The aim of the analyses reported in the present paper were, to study the importance of the sensory modalities (liking of appearance, odour, taste and texture) in consumers’ evaluation of overall liking and compare the findings to the importance of the sensory modalities (liking of appearance, odour, taste and texture) in consumers’ evaluation of sensory satisfaction. The data came from a cross-over consumer case-study on apple-cherry fruit drinks (n = 67). The fruit drinks varied in: type of sweetener used, and addition of aroma and fibre. The modalities driving overall liking and sensory satisfaction were studied through slopes of a regression line relating overall liking and sensory satisfaction, respectively, to liking of the sensory modalities: liking of appearance, -odour, -taste and -texture. Results showed the steepest slope between overall liking and liking of taste, whereas the least steep slope was found for liking of odour. The same pattern between slopes was found for sensory satisfaction and overall liking. Therefore, it was concluded that consumers primarily paid attention to liking of taste (to be understood as flavour) and least attention to liking of odour, when evaluating overall liking and sensory satisfaction, respectively, and that consumers did not use sensory satisfaction as a more holistic response variable than overall liking.