Taste discrimination vs hedonic response to sucrose in coffee beverage. : An interlaboratory study

• Degree of liking, using a 17-point hedonic scale, and discrimination taste thresholds, using a paired-comparison technique, were determined in a coffee beverage containing 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0% sucrose at laboratories in Brazil, Japan, Poland, Sweden and USA. Hedonic responses from the 122 subjects were subdivided into four distinct sub-groups, according to different patterns as a function of sucrose concentration. Different frequencies of these hedonic patterns resulted from the five laboratories. With few exceptions, repeated hedonic testing at the termination of the experiment matched those from the beginning, indicating stability of response during the lengthy study. No differences were observed in hedonic responses (nor in discrimination ability) between the male and female subjects at each laboratory.Discrimination thresholds at the five standard sucrose concentrations, and corresponding Weber ratios, were reported for the pooled data within each laboratory. In general, the Weber ratios were higher at the lower concentrations, indicating dependence of discrimination upon the standard concentration. Notable differences in discrimination ability were evident among the five laboratories, but were unrelated to degree of liking for sweetness in the coffee. Subjects with low or with high degree of liking for all coffee samples, as well as those with increasing or decreasing hedonic responses as a function of sucrose concentration, discriminated equally well among the concentration levels. The data from all laboratories showed that ability to discriminate among sucrose levels and degree of liking for sucrose levels in coffee are independent behavioral responses. © 1978 Information Retrieval Limited.

Subject headings

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Livsmedelsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Food Science (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Food Engineering

Livsmedelsteknik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)