In everyday life, a meal usually consists of a combination of foods. For example, condiments such as tomato sauce are hardly ever consumed alone. When tomato sauce is added to fries for example, the characteristics of the fries will influence the way tomato sauce is perceived, and vice versa. We refer to these combinations of foods as composite foods.
Sensory evaluations are more representative when composite foods are tested
Sensory evaluations are typically performed on a single food. Therefore, they may only indicate part of the sensory experience and might even be misleading. The sensory experience would be more representative of daily-life if consumption contexts were considered. Therefore, it is important to evaluate composite foods, rather than their individual components, in consumer testing.
Combining foods could mask off-flavours
When a food is combined with its accompanying food, the complexity of the sensory experience increases. This shifts consumer attention, which could mask off-flavours detected if the product was consumed on its own. This is important when developing healthier or alternative versions of foods. For instance, in the plant-based products market, many consumers are not satisfied with products to replace meat. The products do not deliver a sensory experience comparable with the animal products they are used to.
Could a buns and condiments mask flavour deficiencies of plant-based burgers?
Plant-based meat alternatives are often described with off-notes such as “beany”, “bitter”, “cardboard-like” and “earthy”. Also, they often lack the juiciness and tenderness that meat has. So, a plant-based burger patty that is described as “cardboard-like” is probably not as attractive as a juicy beef burger. However, what if evaluating a plant-based burger patty, in combination with a traditional bun and condiments could mask flavour and texture deficiencies? The presence of other foods could distract consumer attention away from the patty under investigation, resulting in increased overall liking! And, evaluating a burger as a whole represents a more realistic consumption context than the patty on its own.
An endless range of product combinations is a challenge to testing composite foods
The large range of possible food combinations to be assessed is the main challenge to this approach, especially when considering that different food combinations are used around the globe. Regardless, there is a need to extend sensory testing beyond the properties of single foods to understand how foods are experienced in the way they are normally consumed.
A burger and a bun reduced “off-notes” of a plant-based burger
At FEAST, we explored how combining plant-based patties with condiments and a burger bun affected sensory perception and product liking. The results showed that off-notes and texture defects of plant-based patties were reduced by adding condiments and burger buns, but not enough to affect level of liking. This highlights the difficulty of masking off-notes in these novel products. Perhaps addition of more ingredients may help, such as mustard, lettuce and a pickle!
Digital immersion created a realistic consumption context
In this study, consumers evaluated the products in FEAST’s Immersive Space. Digital immersion was used to add consumption context to the burger evaluation. The digital immersive bar, and the combination of tested products, created a more realistic consumption context for investigating consumer response.
Karina said “the image of a restaurant bar was projected on the walls, typical bar music was played, and accessories such as table numbers and tablecloths were used. The consumers even received their burger in a cardboard box, just like in a burger restaurant!”
Karina Gonzalez Estanol, 10 Nov 2022