Tds of cheese: implications of analyzing texture and taste simultaneously

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the implications of analyzing texture and taste simultaneously on Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) descriptions of Prato cheese. TDS tests were performed in two ways: I-panelists performed TDS tests of cheeses evaluating an attribute list with taste and texture sensations in a same session; II-TDS sessions were performed for each sensory modality. The difficulty and reliability degrees on performing the tests were assessed by the panelists; and some physico-chemical parameters were determined to compare the sensory and instrumental results. During TDS tests, simultaneous evaluations provided a higher number of significant sensations (considering both taste and texture sensations), but at lower dominance rates. Moreover, it was noted that one of the main implications of the simultaneous analysis on TDS results was the temporality differences (the time to reach the significance level, the sensation duration and the sensations sequence). However, regarding only the attributes that most characterized the samples, the results suggested a great similarity between the descriptions obtained from both TDS modalities. The simultaneous analysis implied greater difficulty in performing the tests and less reliable results according to the panelist's opinions. Moreover, the panel considered the texture evaluation more difficult than the taste evaluation. Regarding the instrumental analysis, the physico-chemical parameter intensity (amplitude) was not strongly linked to the maximum dominance rate.