Application of multiple-sip temporal dominance of sensations to the evaluation of sweeteners

Abstract

The dynamic sensory profile of sweeteners is of great importance for the industry during the development of low-calorie products. In the present work the influence of sucrose replacement by low-calorie sweeteners on the dynamic sensory profile of orange juice was evaluated using multiple-sip Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS). Seven orange juices with equivalent sweet concentrations of different sweeteners (sucrose, sucralose, thaumatin, and four samples of stevia) were formulated. A sensory panel of 12 trained assessors evaluated the samples using TDS over three consecutive sips, each lasting 20s. TDS enabled the identification of differences in the dynamics of the sensory characteristics of the juices formulated with different sweeteners, which had not been identified using static measurements. Considering the dominance of the evaluated sensory characteristics over the three sips, the juice with sucralose showed the most similar sensory characteristics to the juice sweetened with sucrose, providing similar sweetness dominance over time without providing negative sensory characteristics. On the other hand, samples of stevia were characterized by a high dominance of bitterness and off-flavor. The consideration of multiple sips enabled the identification of changes in the temporal profile of the juices with repeated rapid ingestions. Results from the present work suggest that multiple sip TDS seems to be an interesting tool for the evaluation of sweeteners, the design of mixtures of sweeteners and the development of low-calorie products.