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Does Liking and Orosensation Intensity Elicited by Sampled Foods Vary with Thermal Tasting?

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Chemosensory Perception

Abstract

Introduction

Food choice and habitual diet-related health outcomes are strongly influenced by the oral sensations elicited by food. Of the biological-based mediators of orosensation, thermal tasting—the capacity to experience phantom taste sensations on lingual thermal stimulation—has not been investigated with respect to orosensation and liking of sampled foods.

Methods

Twenty-three female thermal tasters (TTs) and 21 female thermal non-tasters (TnTs) scored liking of (9-point hedonic scale) and the intensity of orosensations elicited by (gVAS) 22 food and beverage items in duplicate using a randomized complete block design in a customized sensory evaluation laboratory. Foods selected included high fat, high sugar, and high salt items. Sampled items were grouped according to the dominant orosensation(s) elicited (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, astringent, creamy, crunchy, crispy, firm, menthol cool, and grainy), and intensity and liking assessed for each group.

Results

No significant differences were found for thermal tasting status (TTS) in intensity ratings of orosensory groupings (p(t) > 0.05). TnTs gave higher liking ratings for creamy foods than TTs (t = 5.99, p = 0.015), and their liking of the “aversive” food grouping was higher than for TTs and approached significance (t = 2.97, p = 0.086).

Conclusions and Implications

The previously reported variation in orosensation due to TTS observed with simple aqueous solutions, and some beverages may not extend to sampled foods. However, differences in liking are suggested for some food groupings and are worthy of further investigation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to GP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada

    Gary J. Pickering

  2. Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada

    Gary J. Pickering & Catherine E. Klodnicki

  3. Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada

    Gary J. Pickering

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  1. Gary J. Pickering
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  2. Catherine E. Klodnicki
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Correspondence to Gary J. Pickering.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Brock University Research Ethics Board (File # 12–116) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008 (5).

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Pickering, G.J., Klodnicki, C.E. Does Liking and Orosensation Intensity Elicited by Sampled Foods Vary with Thermal Tasting?. Chem. Percept. 9, 47–55 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-016-9207-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12078-016-9207-1

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