Cited by 77Biochemical Analysis and Sensing TechniquesOlfactory and Sensory Function StudiesMultisensory perception and integration

Retronasal odor enhancement by salty and umami tastes

Linscott, Tyler D., Lim, Juyun·2016·Food Quality and Preference

Abstract

It has been shown that congruent food odors are enhanced by sweet taste, but not by sour or bitter taste. This raises questions regarding the underlying conditions of retronasal odor enhancement by taste. We speculate that a taste quality that signals the presence of “nutritive” or “beneficial” substances (e.g., sweet carbohydrate), as opposed to potentially harmful substances (e.g., toxins, spoilage), can enhance a congruent odor. This study aimed to investigate this possibility by testing two other taste qualities, saltiness and umami, which signal the presence of minerals and protein. The study also examined the possible occurrence of saltiness and umami enhancement by odors and factors that may affect both taste and odor enhancement. Over five sessions, subjects rated (1) intensities of saltiness, bitterness, umami, and specific odor of tastants (NaCl, MSG, MPG, caffeine), odorants (chicken, soy sauce odor), and all possible binary mixtures, (2) degree of liking/disliking of the odorants in the absence and presence of the tastants, (3) degree of congruency of odorants alone and with tastants, and (4) degree of perceptual similarity between tastants and odorants. Results showed that saltiness and umami enhanced chicken and soy sauce odor intensities, but the odors did not enhance saltiness and umami intensities. Importantly, the degree of odor enhancement was highly correlated with the degree of taste–odor congruency, but less so with the degree of perceptual similarity between taste and odor. These findings confirm our hypotheses that the quality of taste dictates the ability to enhance food odors and that the degree of taste–odor congruency can modulate the degree of odor enhancement.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.foodqual.2015.08.004

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  • Retronasal enhancement of odour by taste is dictated by the nutritive value of the tastants in addition to odour-taste congruency; sweet, salt, and umami tastes enhance retronasal odour, but no such effect is seen for sour or bitter tastes.

    “more recent research supports the hypothesis that retronasal enhancement of odour by taste is dictated by the nutritive value of the tastants in addition to odour-taste congruency; sweet, salt, and umami tastes-which signal the presence of elements essential for survival-presented evidence of enhancing retronasal odour, but no such e ect was seen for sour or bitter tastes [193].”

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Authors
Linscott, T. D., & Lim, J.
Affiliations
Oregon State University (US)
Corresponding author
Lim, Juyun
Venue
Food Quality and Preference
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-03
Volume
48
Pages
1-10
ISSN
0950-3293 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1524838644
Cited by
77
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
FWCI
3.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Food Quality and Preference (publishedVersion)
Funders
Oregon State University
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
Keywords
salty taste, umami, sweet taste, taste-odor interaction, MSG, sodium chloride, caffeine, perceptual similarity

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