The effect of carrier on consumer liking of soy sauce

Abstract

AbstractSoy sauce may be consumed as an ingredient, a marinade, or as a compliment to sushi. The objective of this study was to determine the role of carrier in the context of consumer liking and differentiation of soy sauces. A trained descriptive analysis panel (n = 8) documented aromatics, basic tastes, and mouthfeel factors of 27 different soy sauces. Ten representative soy sauces were selected for consumer evaluation. Soy sauces were presented on meatballs, cucumber sushi rolls, and neat in three separate sessions. Within each session, consumers (n = 121) reported overall liking for each soy sauce. Overall liking scores were evaluated by two‐way analysis of variance (soy sauce × context) and landscape segmentation analysis (LSA) was applied to visualize consumer ideal points for each context. Soy sauce liking scores were highest for meatballs and lowest for neat evaluation (p < .05). Context and soy sauce impacted liking (p < .05), but there was no interaction (p > .05), and liking scores were generally consistent, regardless of context. Drivers of liking determined via LSA differed slightly among the various contexts tested, and there was evidence that consumer ideals within a product space shifted in different contexts.Practical ApplicationsSelection of a carrier for a consumer taste test can be time‐consuming and expensive. This study demonstrates that consumers can evaluate soy sauces neat and provide the same directional information as if the consumers evaluated the soy sauces with a carrier.