A Timely Application—Temporal methods, past, present, and future

Abstract

Eating is a dynamic experience, and temporal sensory methods have been proposed to document how products change over the course of consumption or use (nonfood). A search of online databases yielded approximately 170 sources related to temporal evaluation of food products that were compiled and reviewed. This review summarizes the evolution of temporal methodologies (past), offers guidance in selecting appropriate methods (present), and provides insights into the future of temporal methodologies in the sensory space. Temporal methods have evolved to document a variety of characteristics in food products including how the intensity of a specific attribute changes over time (Time-Intensity), which specific attribute is dominant at each time during evaluation (Temporal Dominance of Sensations), which attributes are present at each time point during evaluation (Temporal Check-All-That-Apply), and many others (Temporal Order of Sensations, Attack-Evolution-Finish, and Temporal Ranking). In addition to documenting the evolution of temporal methods, this review considers the selection of an appropriate temporal method based on the objective and scope of research. When choosing a temporal method, researchers should also consider the selection of panelists to perform the temporal evaluation. Future temporal research should focus on validation of new temporal methods and explore how methods can be implemented and improved to add to the usefulness of temporal techniques for researchers. K E Y W O R D Sreview, temporal check-all-that-apply, temporal dominance of sensations, temporal methods, time-intensity

Multi‐attribute temporal descriptive methods in sensory analysis applied in food science: A systematic scoping review

“…To date, only narrative reviews have been carried out on temporal sensory evaluation methods (Cliff & Heymann, 1993; Devezeaux de Lavergne et al., 2017; Di Monaco, Su et al., 2014; Dijksterhuis & Piggott, 2000; Fiszman & Tarrega, 2018; Foster et al., 2011; Keefer et al., 2023; Schlich, 2017), particularly on those focused on product description using more than one attribute (multi‐attribute descriptive methods). Unlike narrative reviews, systematic scoping reviews are structured based on a rigorous methodology (Visalli & Galmarini, 2022) and include a risk of bias assessment, which makes the results transparent, reproducible, and objective.…”

Advances in sensory science: From perception to consumer acceptance

“…Temporal methods are used to demonstrate how products change over the course of consumption. One paper exhaustively reviewed and summarized temporal methodologies and the trade-offs among methods, provided guidance in selecting appropriate methods, and provided insights into the future of temporal methodologies in the sensory space (Keefer et al, 2023). Another paper elaborated on how important color is, describing how it is likely A3 to continue to play a key role in the consumer's experience of food in the years ahead (Spence, 2023).…”