FOOD SCIENCE SENSORY EVALUATION OF FOOD Prepared by Alice F. Mullis for classroom presentation January 2011

SENSORY EVALUATION OF FOOD Scientifically testing food using the 5 basic senses: Sight Smell Flavor Touch Hearing Scientifically testing food using the 5 basic senses: Sight Smell Flavor Touch Hearing

SIGHT  Appearance, how food looks  Natural color (no blue foods)  Ripeness and safeness  Color combinations, consistency, size/shape, garnishes

SMELL  How food smells, odor  Triggers hunger  Indicates safety  You can’t taste if you can’t smell  4 Basic tastes (10,000 different smells)

FLAVOR   Sensory impression of a food or other substance   Determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell

TOUCH  How food feels in the mouth  Affected by temperature (such as steak and pizza)  Tenderness is the only sensory characteristic that can be measured by a machine

HEARING The sound a food makes when bitten or chewed (soggy, crisp) The sound a food makes when bitten or chewed (soggy, crisp)

SENSE: TASTE FLAVOR distinctive taste resulting from a food’s appearance, smell, feel and sound FLAVOR distinctive taste resulting from a food’s appearance, smell, feel and sound

FOOD ACCEPTABLITY There are 5 BASIC TASTES: Sweet Salty Salty Sour Bitter Umami Bitter Umami

The newest taste…….. UMAMI (u-ma-me)  Japanese term used in 1979  Means delicious or savory  Described as brothy or meaty  Found in seafood, meats, vegetables and others

Nishime (simmered chicken and vegetables) Ginger Shrimp and Watermelon Salad with Lemongrass Vinaigrette Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Sweet and Sour Fish Sauce

“Those who pay careful attention to their tastebuds will discover in the complex flavor of asparagus, tomatoes, cheese and meat, a common and yet absolutely singular taste which cannot be called sweet, or sour, or salty, or bitter…” Dr. Kikunae Ikeda Eighth International Congress of Applied Chemistry, Washington 1912

How we experience food

Salt is the universal flavoring Flavor Enhancers include MSG and mushrooms

TASTE, continued  Temperature – when warmer food has more aroma & flavor  Babies have more sensitivity; decreases with age  Taste blind – unable to distinguish taste (disease, colds)

SENSORY TESTING  Random, 3 digit ID’s  Only use 3 samples at a time  Control environment - lighting, temperature, noise, color  Clean tongue and palate between samples by rinsing mouth with warm water or eating crackers

SENSORY ACTIVITIES SEEING IS BELIEVING! SEEING IS BELIEVING! CAN YOU TASTE WITHOUT YOUR NOSE? CAN YOU TASTE WITHOUT YOUR NOSE? OH MY PAPILLAE! OH MY PAPILLAE! TRIANGLE SENSORY TEST WITH OREO COOKIES TRIANGLE SENSORY TEST WITH OREO COOKIES

SEEING IS BELIEVING! Eating a POTATO CHIP……………… - First you see the chip (maybe you notice if it has - First you see the chip (maybe you notice if it has any dark/burnt spots?). any dark/burnt spots?). - Next you touch it (maybe you notice if it’s greasy, - Next you touch it (maybe you notice if it’s greasy, or if it’s thick?). or if it’s thick?). - Then as you bring the chip to your mouth you - Then as you bring the chip to your mouth you smell it (maybe you smell the seasoning? Or the smell it (maybe you smell the seasoning? Or the oil it was fried or baked in?) oil it was fried or baked in?) - Then you eat it and hear the crunch of the chip, - Then you eat it and hear the crunch of the chip, and you probably also taste the saltiness (maybe and you probably also taste the saltiness (maybe you also experience some additional flavor?). you also experience some additional flavor?).

Imagine if any one of these experiences was missing. Would a chip be the same if you didn’t hear it crunch in your mouth?

CAN YOU TASTE WITHOUT YOUR NOSE? Think about the last time you had a cold and your nose was blocked. Do you remember eating and thinking that your food had less flavor? That’s because most of what we “taste” is actually being sensed by our olfactory system. Humans can only perceive five qualities (sour, bitter, sweet, salty, and umami), but can smell thousands of odors.

The sensory experience of eating is really a combination of taste and smell. If you still don’t believe it, try eating a food while holding your nose shut. You will see how important smell is to the sensory experience.

Sensory science is often used to test the taste and color acceptance of new products, such as purple ketchup, or the sound characteristics of products, as in the crunch of snack foods. TRIANGLE SENSORY TEST WITH OREO COOKIES

A Triangle test is a type of Difference test to determine if there is a sensory difference between two products. For example, a researcher may want to see if changing one ingredient in a recipe to make a certain food product will affect the taste of the final product. Three coded samples are presented to each panelist. Each panelist is asked to pick out which sample they feel is different from the to the other two.

RESOURCES McGee, Harold, On Food and Cooking, the Science and Lore of the Kitchen, paste.aspx?ref_code=GPPC2&KeyWord=%2Bumami&gclid=CPnkyL3d1qYCFcPt7QodLWThIg Outreach/~/media/Knowledge%20Center/Learn%20Food%20Science/Food%20Science%20 Activity%20Guide/activity_isseeingbelieving.ashxhttp:// Outreach/~/media/Knowledge%20Center/Learn%20Food%20Science/Food%20Science%20 Activity%20Guide/activity_isseeingbelieving.ashx Outreach/~/media/Knowledge%20Center/Learn%20Food%20Science/Food%20Science%20 Activity%20Guide/activity_tastewithoutyournose.ashx Outreach/~/media/Knowledge%20Center/Learn%20Food%20Science/Food%20Science%20 Activity%20Guide/activity_ohmypapillae.ashx Outreach/~/media/Knowledge%20Center/Learn%20Food%20Science/Food%20Science%20Activity%20 Guide/activity_trianglesensory.ashx