Bitterness Of Products Research Articles

The U.S. Consumers' Acceptability and Emotion Measures when Consuming Novel Korean Traditional Non‐Alcoholic Beverages

AbstractThe objectives of this study were to determine how U.S. consumers perceive 6 Korean traditional beverages (Bokbunja, Hongsaam, Korean date, Omija, Sansuyu and Yuja) and to find out the influence of extrinsic information (name, nutritional information, picture of raw material and stories related to each sample) on acceptability, liking and intensity appropriateness of sweetness and bitterness, and emotion when consuming novel beverages. Bokbunja, Yuja and Korean date were samples received high acceptability, had adequate intensity of sweetness and bitterness, and evoked positive emotions. When the extrinsic information of the samples was provided, acceptability of all six samples tended to increase. Percentage of consumers who perceived the intensity of sweetness and bitterness of products as “just about right” increased when evaluated the samples in the informed condition. Also principal component analysis (PCA) biplot of emotions revealed the influence of information during evaluation. When tested in the informed condition, samples evoked relatively positive emotion compare to samples tested in the blind condition. The disliked products showed the greater increase of acceptability from the blind to the informed conditions.Practical ApplicationsThere is not much research conducted to evaluate acceptability of Korean traditional beverages with foreign consumers. In our study, we used these traditional beverages, which were still novel to U.S. consumers, and measured overall acceptability, liking and intensity appropriateness of sweetness and bitterness, and emotion using EsSense Profile™. Among six beverage samples we used, three samples (Bokbunja, Yuja and Korean date) received positive scores for all measurements. Also by comparing the results of evaluations conducted in blind and informed conditions, importance of information when evaluating the samples was shown. Our work provided the basis of launching favored Korean traditional beverage products in the U.S. market and demonstrated importance of the information when introducing the novel products to consumers.

Rejection thresholds in chocolate milk: Evidence for segmentation

Bitterness is generally considered a negative attribute in food, yet many individuals enjoy some bitterness in products like coffee or chocolate. In chocolate, bitterness arises from naturally occurring alkaloids and phenolics found in cacao. Fermentation and roasting help develop typical chocolate flavor and reduce the intense bitterness of raw cacao by modifying these bitter compounds. As it becomes increasingly common to fortify chocolate with ‘raw’ cacao to increase the amount of healthful phytonutrients, it is important to identify the point at which the concentration of bitter compounds becomes objectionable, even to those who enjoy some bitterness. Classical threshold methods focus on the presence or absence of a sensation rather than acceptability or hedonics. A new alternative, the rejection threshold, was recently described in the literature. Here, we sought to quantify and compare differences in rejection thresholds (RjT) and detection thresholds (DT) in chocolate milk spiked with a food safe bitterant (sucrose octaacetate). In experiment 1, a series of paired preference tests was used to estimate the RjT for bitterness in chocolate milk. In a new group of participants (experiment 2), we determined the RjT and DT using the forced choice ascending method of limits. In both studies, participants were segmented on the basis of self-declared preference for milk or dark solid chocolate. Based on sigmoid fits of the indifference–preference function, the RjT was ∼2.3 times higher for those preferring dark chocolate than the RjT for those preferring milk chocolate in both experiments. In contrast, the DT for both groups was functionally identical, suggesting that differential effects of bitterness on liking of chocolate products are not based on the ability to detect bitterness in these products.