Sensory Methods to Evaluate Muscle Foods

Abstract

Muscle foods have properties that are related to the five senses of taste, smell, sight, feel, and sound. The four basic tastes of salty, sweet, bitter, and sour can be readily identified in different muscle foods. Further processed muscle foods, such as frankfurters or summer sausage, usually have salty or sweet tastes. Smell is a very important sensory property, as the detection of aromatics and/or odors by the olfactory nerve comprises the major components of muscle food flavor. The fishy flavor in intensely flavored fish species is an aromatic detected by the olfactory nerve. Texture or feel of food influences perceptions of acceptability. The tenderness of muscle foods has been shown to affect consumer acceptability just as the detection of mouth-coating or a residual substance, usually fat, in the mouth and throat after the consumption of high-fat meat products can influence human perception of acceptability or unacceptability.