Preference Sorting as a tool for Dulce de Leches' drivers of liking determination

Abstract

Sensory descriptive methods are useful tools for quality control and product development. In recent years, faster methods (such as Sorting task), which do not require trained sensory panels, have been increasingly implemented to save time and consumption. Sorting task is a simple procedure for collecting similarity data, in which each assessor groups stimuli based on their perceived similarities, following or not by the samples description. Several variations of this method have been developed and presented. However, none of these approaches focused mainly on determining attributes that drive product acceptance. Thus, it is important to evaluate some tasks variations to establish recommendations about procedures useful for screening numerous samples, considering their characteristics that most contribute to their acceptance. Therefore, this study assessed three sorting task variations, varying the sorting criteria—based on similarities or based on acceptance, to assess Dulce de leche drivers of liking. Sorting criteria and the sensory description task influenced sensory results. Focusing on drivers of liking determination, grouping criteria based on preference (suggested name as Preference Sorting), following the description of the characteristics that most contribute to product acceptance, seems to be interesting.