73G-7 |
Does fat affect taste? |
K. L. METCALF and Z. M. Vickers. Dept. of Food Science & Nutrition, Univ. of Minnesota, 225 Eckles Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55108-6099 Excess fat consumption imposes the risk of chronic disease. Therefore, understanding the role fat plays in the sensory appeal of foods is important. This role includes the effects fat has on taste, which are poorly understood. Most research in this area has used common foods as models. However, foods are complicated, multivariable systems, making simple models, such as oil-in-water emulsions, more appealing. Few studies have used oil-in-water emulsions; and most neglect aqueous taste compound concentration differences (thus confounding the effects fat has on taste). Even fewer studies include the umami taste. Our objective was to determine the effects of fat on the sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami tastes using oil-in-water emulsions. Emulsions (9% and 17% sunflower oil) were compared to an oil-free sample with equal total volume (thus, they had different aqueous taste compound concentrations). We also compared the emulsions to a control, which had the same aqueous taste compound concentration. Because viscosity differences between the emulsions and oil-free samples may have affected results, we repeated the experiment. Experiment II was similar to experiment I, except panelists rated thickness along taste intensity. In experiment I, fat increased the sweet, salty, sour and umami tastes and decreased the bitter taste. In experiment II, the effect of fat followed the same pattern from experiment 1, except only the salty taste was significantly enhanced. In both experiments, all emulsions were equal in taste intensity to the control. Fat may appear to increase tastes (except bitterness because quinine is fat-soluble) by concentrating the taste compounds into the aqueous phase. If one does not correct for aqueous taste compound differences when removing fat from foods, the salty taste may decrease and the bitter taste may increase, thus, lowering the sensory appeal of that food.
Session 73G, Sensory Evaluation
|