In Vivo Aroma Release and Dynamic Sensory Perception of Composite Foods

Abstract

Condiments such as spreads, dressings, or sauces are usually consumed together with carrier foods such as breads or vegetables. Dynamic interactions between condiments and carriers occur during consumption, which can influence aroma release and perception. This study investigated in vivo aroma release (PTR-MS) and dynamic sensory perception (time–intensity) of mayonnaises spiked with lemon aroma (limonene, citral). Mayonnaises were assessed without and with carrier foods (bread, potato). When different mayonnaises were consumed and assessed alone, aroma release and intensity perception were positively correlated. Interestingly, when mayonnaises were combined with carriers, aroma release and perception were no longer positively correlated. Addition of carriers increased release of limonene and citral into the nasal cavity during consumption but decreased perceived aroma intensity of condiments. The increase in aroma release induced by the carriers can be explained by differences in oral processing behaviors and by the increased surface area of mayonnaise-carrier combinations. Carrier addition is likely to modulate aroma perception of composite foods by cross-modal texture–aroma interactions. This work demonstrates that not only physicochemical characteristics of foods but also cross-modal interactions play a role in influencing flavor perception of composite foods.

Differences in habitual eating speed lead to small differences in dynamic sensory perception of composite foods

“…In our study, it may be that due to its lower moisture content, the wafer might have required an increased mastication time. Overall, our findings are in agreement with previous studies that demonstrated that toppings assisted saliva in bolus formation of different solid foods (bread, crackers, pasta, milk gels), leading to shorter oral processing times (Gonzalez-Estanol, Libardi, et al, 2022;van Eck et al, 2019). It should be noted that the TDS curves were not time standardized.…”

“…In general, our findings regarding the temporal sequence of dominant sensations of composite foods are in agreement with previous studies where different solid carriers (bread, wafer, carrots) were combined with various toppings (hazelnut-chocolate spread, mayonnaise). At the beginning of consumption, sensations related to the flavor and texture of the carriers were dominant, whereas sensations related to the toppings were dominant at later stages of consumption (Gonzalez-Estanol, Cliceri, et al, 2022;van Eck et al, 2019).…”

“…To measure oral processing behaviors, stickers were placed on the face of participants following the procedure previously described (Aguayo-Mendoza et al, 2019;Ketel et al, 2019;van Eck et al, 2019). Two stickers were placed 5 cm apart on the forehead of participants to calibrate the software with the number of pixels that represented 5 cm.…”

“…Sensory attributes to describe jam and bread were obtained from previous studies (Alves et al, 2008;Kurotobi et al, 2018;Oliver et al, 2018;Panouille et al, 2014;van Eck et al, 2019) and validated with a pilot test with consumers (n = 10 women, age: 21.8 ± 1.3 years) not participating in the main study. A Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) methodology was used.…”

“…Video recordings of participants consuming foods followed by post hoc video annotations have been used frequently to code oral processing behaviors (Forde, van Kuijk, et al, 2013). In addition, video recordings for tracking jaw movements during food consumption have also been used (Aguayo-Mendoza et al, 2020;Forde, Bolhuis, et al, 2013;Ketel et al, 2019;van Eck et al, 2019). Skin surface markers are placed on the consumer's face to track automatically the movement of the chin or other facial features inferring the movement of the jaw during mastication (Jin et al, 2022;Wilson et al, 2016).…”