Modulation of perceived taste by olfaction in familiar and unfamiliar beverages
Abstract
The integration of olfactory and taste perception and the role of congruency and familiarity on perception have already been demonstrated in model solutions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of these factors in real food products. Therefore, we have investigated the impact of olfactory perception on perceived bitterness in a familiar (bitter cocoa beverage) and an unfamiliar (bitter milk) beverage. Sensory profilings with and without noseclip were conducted according to simultaneous product presentation. In a first experiment, an instant cocoa powder mixed with water was used to prepare a common base. Two types of flavourings were added: cocoa and vanilla, at three different levels (none, medium and high). Samples were compared within a flavouring type. In a second experiment a vanilla flavour was added at three levels to a milk base containing caffeine. The panellists scored bitterness, sourness, sweetness and body with noseclip. Without noseclip, overall aroma above the cup and in mouth were assessed in addition to the previous set of attributes. With noseclip, results showed that neither the cocoa nor the vanilla flavourings provided any additional taste to the beverages. Without noseclip, olfactory/taste interaction in the cocoa beverage led to an enhancement of bitterness induced by the cocoa flavouring and an increase in sweetness from the vanilla flavouring. On the contrary, in the caffeinated milk, the addition of vanilla flavouring did not significantly increase sweetness, but unexpectedly enhanced bitterness. This study is further evidence of the influence of olfaction on taste perception in complex matrices. In addition, our results suggest that taste-olfaction integration is product dependent and related to food experience, even when working with trained subjects. Furthermore, the unpleasantness due to the neophobia related to the consumption of a new product and to bitterness may enhance bitterness when the unfamiliarity of the product is increased by addition of vanilla flavouring to a bitter milk beverage.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Aromas such as caramel, vanilla, and berry flavours increase the perception of sweetness, at least in Western participants.
“Aromas such as caramel, vanilla, and berry flavours have been found to increase the perception of sweetness, at least in Western participants (e.g., [2,44,45,93-100], see References [1,101] for reviews).”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [95]
In a relatively less familiar caffeinated milk product, addition of vanilla flavouring unexpectedly enhances bitterness instead of sweetness.
“when it came to the relatively less familiar ca einated milk product, the addition of vanilla flavouring unexpectedly enhanced bitterness instead of sweetness.”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [95]
In a cocoa beverage, cocoa flavouring enhances bitterness and vanilla flavouring enhances sweetness.
“in the cocoa beverage, cocoa flavouring led to an enhancement of bitterness and vanilla flavouring enhanced sweetness.”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [95]
Taste-aroma interactions are moderated by the nature of the food matrix.
“taste-aroma interactions are moderated by the nature of the food matrix in question.”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [95]
Cites
DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD PREFERENCES
Birch, L. L. (1999) · Annual Review of Nutrition · doi:10.1146/annurev.nutr.19.1.41 · Cited by 1,757 · see citing works
An overview of binary taste–taste interactions
Keast, R. S. J., & Breslin, P. A. S. (2003) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/s0950-3293(02)00110-6 · Cited by 615 · see citing works
Experience-dependent neural integration of taste and smell in the human brain
Small, D. M., Voss, J., Mak, Y. E., Simmons, K. B., Parrish, T., & Gitelman, D. (2004) · Journal of Neurophysiology · doi:10.1152/jn.00050.2004 · Cited by 398 · see citing works
Confusing tastes and smells: How odours can influence the perception of sweet and sour tastes
Stevenson, R. J. (1999) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/24.6.627 · Cited by 394 · see citing works
Taste-smell interactions are tastant and odorant dependent
Frank, R. A., & Byram, J. (1988) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/13.3.445 · Cited by 359 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Frank and Byram (1988) reported that strawberry odour enhanced whipped cream sweetness whereas peanut butter did not affect sweetness rating.”
BackgroundLimiting response alternatives in time-intensity scaling: an examination of the halo-dumping effect
Clark, C. C., & Lawless, H. T. (1994) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/19.6.583 · Cited by 324 · see citing works
The role of congruency and pleasantness in odor-induced taste enhancement
Schifferstein, H. N. J., & Verlegh, P. W. J. (1996) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/0001-6918(95)00040-2 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Taste and olfaction: Independence vs interaction
Murphy, C., & Cain, W. S. (1980) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/0031-9384(80)90257-7 · Cited by 270 · see citing works
The acquisition of taste properties by odors
Stevenson, R. J., Prescott, J., & Boakes, R. A. (1995) · Learning and Motivation · doi:10.1016/s0023-9690(05)80006-2 · Cited by 264 · see citing works
Prescott, J. (1999) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/s0950-3293(98)00048-2 · Cited by 241 · see citing works
Odor-Taste Interactions: Effects of Attentional Strategies during Exposure
Prescott, J. (2004) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/bjh036 · Cited by 213 · see citing works
Drewnowski, A., & Hann, C. S. (1999) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/70.1.28 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
Both perceptual and conceptual factors influence taste-odor and taste-taste interactions
Frank, R. A., van der Klaauw, N. J., & Schifferstein, H. N. J. (1993) · Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/bf03205269 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Stein, L. J., Nagai, H., Nakagawa, M., & Beauchamp, G. K. (2003) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/s0195-6663(02)00173-3 · Cited by 194 · see citing works
Effects of color and odor on judgments of sweetness among children and adults
Lavin, J. G., & Lawless, H. T. (1998) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/s0950-3293(98)00009-3 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
Bonnans, S. R., & Noble, A. C. (1993) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/18.3.273 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
Time‐Intensity Evaluation of Sweetness and Fruitiness and Their Interaction in a Model Solution
Cliff, M. A., & Noble, A. C. (1990) · Journal of Food Science · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1990.tb06784.x · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Sensory studies with sucrose-maltol mixtures
Bingham, A. F., BIRCH, G. G., de Graaf, C., Behan, J., & Perring, K. D. (1990) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/15.4.447 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Sakai, N., Kobayakawa, T., Gotow, N., Saito, S., & Imada, S. (2001) · Perceptual and Motor Skills · doi:10.2466/pms.2001.92.3c.1002 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Sensory memory and food texture
Mojet, J., & Köster, E. P. (2004) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2004.04.017 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Incidental Learning and Memory for Three Basic Tastes in Food
Koster, M. A. (2004) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/bjh047 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Sulmont‐Rossé, C. (2002) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/27.4.307 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Comparison between orthonasal and retronasal flavour perception at different concentrations
Diaz, M. A. (2004) · Flavour and Fragrance Journal · doi:10.1002/ffj.1475 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Taste as a factor in the management of nutrition
Scott, T. R., & Verhagen, J. V. (2000) · Nutrition · doi:10.1016/s0899-9007(00)00423-8 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Does Olfactory Memory Depend on Remembering Odors?
Köster, E. P. (2005) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/bjh201 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Drewnowski, A., Henderson, S. A., Shore, A. B., & Barratt-Fornell, A. (1998) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb10661.x · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Gender preference in hedonic ratings for espresso and espresso-milk coffees
Cristovam, E., Russell, C., Paterson, A., et al. (2000) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/s0950-3293(00)00015-x · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Response context affects judgments of flavor components in foods and beverages
Frank, R. A. (2003) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/s0950-3293(02)00073-3 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The role of expectancy in sensory and hedonic evaluation: The case of smoked salmon ice-cream
Yeomans, M. R., Chambers, L., Blumenthal, H., & Blake, A. (2008) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2008.02.009 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
Wang, Q. J., Mielby, L. A., Junge, J. Y., Bertelsen, A. S., Kidmose, U., Spence, C., & Byrne, D. V. (2019) · Foods · doi:10.3390/foods8060211 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
“[95] tested the taste enhancement effects of cocoa and vanilla flavouring in cocoa and caffeinated milk.”
BackgroundA study on texture-taste-aroma interactions: Physico-chemical and cognitive mechanisms
Tournier, C., Sulmont-Rossé, C., Sémon, E., Vignon, A., Issanchou, S., & Guichard, E. (2009) · International Dairy Journal · doi:10.1016/j.idairyj.2009.01.003 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Subthreshold olfactory stimulation can enhance sweetness
Labbe, D., Rytz, A., Morgenegg, C., Ali, S., & Martin, N. (2007) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/bjl040 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Self-citationBarba, C., Beno, N., Guichard, E., & Thomas-Danguin, T. (2018) · Food Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.02.152 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Modification of the Bitterness of Caffeine
Keast, R. S. J. (2008) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2008.02.002 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
The role of congruency in taste-odor interactions
Lim, J., Fujimaru, T., & Linscott, T. D. (2014) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2013.12.002 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
How can aroma-related cross-modal interactions be analysed? A review of current methodologies
Poinot, P., Arvisenet, G., Ledauphin, J., Gaillard, J.-L., & Prost, C. (2013) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2012.10.007 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Retronasal odor enhancement by salty and umami tastes
Linscott, T. D., & Lim, J. (2016) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2015.08.004 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Odour-modulation of taste ratings by chefs
Boakes, R. A., & Hemberger, H. (2012) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2012.01.006 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Charles, M., Endrizzi, I., Aprea, E., Zambanini, J., Betta, E., & Gasperi, F. (2017) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.06.014 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Wang, Q. J., Mielby, L. A., Thybo, A. K., Bertelsen, A. S., Kidmose, U., Spence, C., & Byrne, D. V. (2019) · Journal of Sensory Studies · doi:10.1111/joss.12492 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
- Authors
- Labbe, D., Damevin, L., Vaccher, C., Morgenegg, C., & Martin, N.
- Affiliations
- Nestlé (Switzerland) (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Labbe, D.
- ORCID
- Martin, N.
- Venue
- Food Quality and Preference
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2006-10
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 7-8
- Pages
- 582-589
- ISSN
- 0950-3293 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2163217809
- Cited by
- 142
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 5.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Food Quality and Preference (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food Chemistry and Fat Analysis
- Keywords
- taste perception, familiarity, neophobia, cocoa beverage, sensory profiling, sweetness enhancement
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
