C. Tournier*, E. Guichard, C. Sulmont-Rossé

UMR FLAVIC INRA-ENESAD, France;  carole.tournier@remove-this.dijon.inra.fr

Among the multiple sensations perceived during food consumption, texture, taste and aroma are known to interact. From literature, it is not ever clear whether theses interactions occurred at a physicochemical, perceptual and/or cognitive level [1]. In this study texture-taste, texture-aroma and taste-aroma interactions were investigated in a reciprocal way, by keeping the third dimension constant.

Consumers evaluated three custard desserts which textural characteristics were modified using a mechanical treatment, without changing the initial composition. To study texture-taste interactions, two levels of sweetness were obtained for each textural variant of custard dessert, by changing sweetener composition without changing textural characteristics. Sixty-five consumers rated the thickness and the sweetness of the 6 dairy products.

Results showed that thickness perception was not modified by sweetness variation while sweetness perception was modified by texture variation: the thicker the product was the less sweet it was perceived.

To study texture-aroma interactions, the three texture variants at a same sweetness level were aromatized with benzaldehyde. Sixty-one consumers rated the thickness, the aroma intensity and the sweetness in two conditions: with and without a nose clip. Results showed that thickness perception was not affected by aroma perception and aroma intensity was not significantly modified by texture variation. Finally, a reciprocal taste-aroma interaction was observed.

The previous experiment showed that custard desserts were perceived as more sweet when aroma was perceived. Conversely, a complementary experiment showed that aroma intensity increased when sweetness level increased. Taken together these results give a better understanding of sensory interactions that occur during consumption of a complex dairy dessert. Further results from the complementary in vivo physicochemical investigations will be explored in the presentation, in order to consolidate hypotheses on interaction level (physicochemical vs. perceptual).

References

[1] Delwiche, J. (2004). The impact of perceptual interactions on perceived flavor. Food Quality and Preference, 15, p.137-146.

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