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MNEI has been proved to be a high-potency sweetener that could be used in the beverage industry to satisfy consumer demands for low-caloric products. Until now its sweetness profile was studied only in liquid samples. So the objectives of this study were to characterize the sweetness intensity profile of MNEI protein in simple gelled systems, and to characterize the dominance sensation of more complex gelled systems in comparison with other sweeteners. First, the sweetness intensity of MNEI and of three commercial sweeteners (aspartame, saccharin, and sucrose) was determined in aqueous solutions and in gel, at different agar concentrations, by the time-Intensity method. Then, gels at 1.5% agar concentration, containing flavoring, coloring, and acidifying agent were evaluated using the temporal dominance of sensation method to study the interaction between sweetness and other sensory attributes. Differences regarding sweeteners in solutions and gels were reported showing a decrease of sweetness intensity perception when sweeteners were added in a gelled matrix, especially for MNEI. Additionally, MNEI seemed to be the sweetener most affected by all evaluation conditions (coloring and acidifying agents) in the TDS method. The results are an important scientific contribution to the knowledge of MNEI sensory profile in gelled and complex matrices that could increase its range of food applications. Practical applications: The use of both time intensity and temporal dominance of sensation methods in order to evaluate the temporal sweetness profile of MNEI-based gelled system represented a new approach in the study of sweet proteins. Indeed, the use of the TDS represented an innovative approach to study the effect of color on sweetness and flavor perception. According to our results, MNEI gels did not perform well comparing to the other sweeteners in semisolid matrix. However, further studies should be carried out in order to better understand the interaction between MNEI protein and the gelling as well as the coloring agents. Regarding the application in semisolid foods, it could be suggested the use of new technologies like encapsulation in order to protect the protein from experimental conditions and prevent its interaction with the sweet taste receptor

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Hedonic measurements in the frame of consumer tests of foods are prone to many different biases and the validity of test designs has been subject to much research with special emphasis on the role of context. While bringing elements of natural consumption context to the testing conditions is generally seen as an improvement, other aspects of the test design such as the task format have received little attention. In particular, the influence of analytical questions on hedonic responses has been studied in standardized contexts only. This study aimed to assess whether synthetic and analytical evaluation tasks result in different hedonic responses when the test is conducted in a natural consumption context. Bread and pizzas with different degrees of culinary preparation (homemade, readymade, and a combination of the two) were tested on three separate days in a university cafeteria. Overall liking scores of the bread and the three different pizzas were obtained either with a synthetic (hedonic question only) or with an analytical task (hedonic question plus intensity attributes). Care was taken to avoid any other changes to normal eating conditions, notably by recruiting on the spot only those customers who had spontaneously chosen pizza as part of their lunch. Liking scores of the homemade pizza were lower with the analytical task while the scores of the other two pizzas did not change significantly. Moreover, different rankings of the pizzas were obtained when the data were analyzed separately for each evaluation task format. The synthetic evaluation task would have led to the conclusion that the homemade pizza was the best liked and the readymade being the least liked, while the analytical evaluation task would have led to the conclusion that the “mixed” pizza would be liked significantly more than the other two. The effect of the task format (i.e., lower scores with the analytical task) was more pronounced when participants reported they had spent more time in the queue. These results strengthen the view that the task is part of the evaluation context and must be carefully considered when one wishes to design ecologically valid consumer tests.