Understanding the role of dynamic texture perception in consumers' expectations of satiety and satiation. A case study on barley bread

Summary

Dynamic sensory perception has become of interest particularly related to consumers’ affective response, however, better understanding the eating experience further than liking, taking into account how the dynamic sensory perception correlates to satiety perception becomes also very relevant. The objective of this work was to better understand satiety expectations in relation to the temporal aspects of texture perception during consumption. Eight barley bread samples were manufactured, with the same formulation, ingredients and caloric content but manipulating their texture by changing process parameters. A trained sensory panel evaluated the eight samples in triplicate, using a dynamic sensory method: Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS). Based on the results, four samples with well differentiated dynamic profiles were selected. These samples were also evaluated via classic descriptive analysis by the trained panel. A consumer test (n = 96) was run where consumers evaluated overall liking, expected satiety and expected satiation and answered to a check-all-that-apply (CATA) question that included 23 sensory and 15 non-sensory attributes. The results showed that the samples did not present mayor differences in liking but were significantly different in their expected satiety. Results showed that in solid foods like barley breads with the same ingredients, same composition and same caloric content, the oral processing, determined by textural changes, was the driver of different expectations of satiety and satiation. Dynamic textural changes responsible for driving satiety and satiation expectations were identified. Chewiness dominance mainly in the first stages of mastication and coarseness throughout the mastication were drivers of enhanced satiety perceptions, whereas a dominant perception of dryness and crumbliness at the beginning were linked to breads less expected to be satiating. A penalty lift analysis on the CATA results highlighted compact, coarse and heavy as the most important drivers of expectations of satiety and satiation for consumers, while aery/fluffy and not coarse were inhibitors of those perceptions.