The Sensory Properties of Foods and Their Assessment by Trained Individuals

Abstract

Food and beverage companies constantly seek to create and introduce new products in the marketplace. Understanding the sensory attributes of foods is crucial to support their product development activities. Descriptive methods are the cornerstone of sensory evaluation techniques. They are used in various R&D and manufacturing activities, ranging from product design to market introduction and quality control, to provide objective evaluations of the sensory characteristics of products. This chapter offers a concise overview of the physical- and chemical-sensory properties of foods and beverages, which are related to both their composition and changes occurring during storage, and illustrates some of the sensory evaluation techniques employed by trained individuals to objectively describe and assess them.