As the favor and odor of a soft drink are very important elements of a product they should be closely controlled.
This is generally carried out by trained panelists who have been screened to ensure that they have an aptitude for this type of assessment; they are often quality assurance panel or workers from the production plant.
Acidulants are of considerable importance in determining the sensory quality of soft drinks and care must be taken during formulation to obtain the correct sugar-acid balance.
Sugar can interact with a wide variety of chemical constituents. Combination of sugars can synergistically in regard to sensory response.
Some flavor compounds can enhance sweetness, for example maltol. Bitter compounds can repress sweetness and acids are very effective at repressing sweetness.
Carbonated soft drinks differ from non-carbonated in containing carbonic acid. Carbonic acid is responsible for the extra sparkle in the mouth feel, flavor and ‘bite’ which distinguishes carbonated soft drinks from their non-carbonated counterparts.
Another important factor is color of the drinks. The perception of color influences the taster’s perception of a drink, and thus coloring is inevitably controversial.
Color provides a means of correctly presenting a beverage to the consumer so that the perceived organoleptic attributes are correctly ordered in a sequence of appreciation.
During production, many contaminants, even at level within drinking water standards may adversely affect the soft drinks. For example, some algae produce compounds that are sensory active at level as low as nanograms per liter can result in a ‘dirty’, ‘musty’ flavor and aroma in finished products.
Sensory properties of soft drinks
Showing posts with label sensory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sensory. Show all posts
The Sense of Taste
The Sense of Taste
In physiological terms, the sense of taste can be describe as the sensations perceive in the mouth when a food and drink is consumed.
This is basically accomplished by chemical interaction of food components with taste sensory tissues in the tongue and other areas in the mouth. Commonly can be called these the “taste buds”.
However, the overall sensory impact experienced when food is tasted involves more than just the actual individual taste sense.
It is often more of a combination of taste with several additional senses – olfactory (smell), visual, touch and sometimes, even sound.
Would freshly squeezed orange juice taste like orange without the aromatic impact of the volatile citrus oils in the peel and the juice itself on sense of smell?
Would it taste like orange if, for some absurd reason, it was deep purple in color?
Would we not think something was wrong if we did not feel and sort of “hear” the small little juice sacs pop in our mouth as we swirl the liquid around our tongues?
Food technologists tend to think in terms of a drink’s “sensory properties” when evaluating it for taste.
These are the different sensory perception factors that impact on our brain: sweetness, sourness, flavor, mouthfeel, color, clarity, etc.
In a carbonated soft drink the gas content or its “fizziness” is a critical factor as well.
In addition to the sensory factors the temperature and presentation of the tested product would also play a significant part in the test results.
Therefore, a “taste test” would not only mean how does it taste but would also refer to a general evaluation of its sensory properties.
The Sense of Taste
In physiological terms, the sense of taste can be describe as the sensations perceive in the mouth when a food and drink is consumed.
This is basically accomplished by chemical interaction of food components with taste sensory tissues in the tongue and other areas in the mouth. Commonly can be called these the “taste buds”.However, the overall sensory impact experienced when food is tasted involves more than just the actual individual taste sense.
It is often more of a combination of taste with several additional senses – olfactory (smell), visual, touch and sometimes, even sound.
Would freshly squeezed orange juice taste like orange without the aromatic impact of the volatile citrus oils in the peel and the juice itself on sense of smell?
Would it taste like orange if, for some absurd reason, it was deep purple in color?
Would we not think something was wrong if we did not feel and sort of “hear” the small little juice sacs pop in our mouth as we swirl the liquid around our tongues?
Food technologists tend to think in terms of a drink’s “sensory properties” when evaluating it for taste.
These are the different sensory perception factors that impact on our brain: sweetness, sourness, flavor, mouthfeel, color, clarity, etc.
In a carbonated soft drink the gas content or its “fizziness” is a critical factor as well.
In addition to the sensory factors the temperature and presentation of the tested product would also play a significant part in the test results.
Therefore, a “taste test” would not only mean how does it taste but would also refer to a general evaluation of its sensory properties.
The Sense of Taste
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