Application of Sensory Techniques to Understand the Impact of Ingredients on Sensory Properties of Beverages

Sensory evaluation is a critical process in product development and consumer research. It is a fast growing field with novel techniques being developed and evaluated continuously. The objective of this dissertation was to apply different sensory science techniques, both traditional and newly developed approaches, to aid in the understanding of the impact of ingredients on sensory properties of beverages. Four different studies were conducted on two types of beverages/ingredients: whey protein hydrolysate beverages and carbonated lemon-lime beverages.;Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) is a value-added dairy ingredient with bioactive and functional properties. However, the flavor and bitter taste of WPH limits its usage. First, chemical compounds that contributed to flavor of whey protein hydrolysate were characterized. Gas-chromatography olfactometry and mass spectrometry, descriptive analysis, and threshold testing were conducted. Potato/brothy, malty, and animal flavors and bitter taste were key distinguishing sensory attributes of WPH. Important aroma-active compounds that contributed to WPH flavors were methional (potato/brothy flavor) and 3-methyl butanal (malty flavor). The second study evaluated effectiveness of 24 documented bitter taste inhibitors to decrease WPH bitterness. Quinine hydrochloride (Quinine) was used as a control. Effective bitter taste inhibitors of WPH tested were sucralose, fructose, sucrose, adenosine 5' monophosphate, adenosine 5' monophosphate disodium, sodium acetate, monosodium glutamate and sodium gluconate. All effective inhibitors in rehydrated WPH were also effective in beverage applications. Descriptive analysis demonstrated that sweeteners enhanced vanilla and chocolate flavors in beverages. Most salts and a nucleotide were effective bitter inhibitors but suppressed vanilla and chocolate flavors and potentiated other flavors and basic tastes.;The second topic of this dissertation was to study the sensory properties and consumer preferences of diet and regular carbonated soft drinks (CSD). In the first study, descriptive analysis and degree of difference from control methods (DOD) were applied to document sensory properties of regular and diet carbonated soft drinks. Multidimensional scaling was used to interpret DOD data and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS2) and Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA) were used to predict and relate the two sensory data sets. Beverages were distinguished based on category, sweetening systems and brand. The use of DOD allowed clarification of the underlying perceptions that trained panelists used in differentiating samples. The developed lexicon allowed for documentation of multi-modal sensory perceptions generated by carbonated beverages. From this study, ten beverages were selected for a subsequent study to identify drivers of liking. Consumer testing with regular and diet beverages, consumer segmentation and external preference mapping were performed. Diet beverage consumers liked two of the diet beverages more than regular beverage consumers. There were no differences in the overall liking scores between diet and regular beverage consumers for other products except for a sparkling beverage sweetened with juice which was more liked by regular beverage consumers. Three subtle but distinct consumer preference clusters were identified. All clusters were driven by mouthfeel attributes but were differentiated by preference for basic tastes and some aromatics while user status (diet or regular beverage consumers) did not have a large impact on liking.;Multiple sensory tools used in combination with statistical analyses successfully allowed for understanding of sensory characteristics of different types of beverages and the impact of ingredients in beverages.