Confusing tastes and smells: How odours can influence the perception of sweet and sour tastes
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between perception of an odour when smelled and the taste of a solution to which the odour is added as a flavorant. In Experiment 1 (E1) sweetness, sourness, liking and intensity ratings were obtained for 20 odours. Taste ratings were then obtained for sucrose solutions to which the odours had been added as flavorants. Certain odours were found to enhance tasted sweetness while others suppressed it. The degree to which an odour smelled sweet was the best predictor of the taste ratings. These findings were extended in Experiment 2 (E2), which included a second tastant, citric acid, and employed four odours from E1. The most sweet smelling odour, caramel, was found to suppress the sourness of citric acid and, as in E1, to enhance the sweetness of sucrose. Again, odours with low sweetness suppressed the sweetness of tasted sucrose. The study demonstrated that the effects of odours on taste perception are not limited to sweetness enhancement and apply to sour as well as sweet tastes. The overall pattern of results is consistent with an explanation of the taste properties of odours in terms of prior flavour-taste associations.
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The more an aroma is judged to be food-like, the sweeter-smelling it is perceived.
“The more an aroma was judged to be food-like, the sweeter-smelling it was perceived.”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [103]
The degree to which an aroma smelled sweet is the best predictor of an aroma's ability to enhance sweetness of sucrose.
“They found that the degree to which an aroma smelled sweet was the best predictor of an aroma's ability to enhance sweetness of sucrose, but that the degree to which an aroma was perceived to smell sweet was significantly correlated to whether the aroma was regarded to be food or non-food-like.”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [103]
The degree to which an aroma was perceived to smell sweet is significantly correlated to whether the aroma was regarded to be food or non-food-like.
“They found that the degree to which an aroma smelled sweet was the best predictor of an aroma's ability to enhance sweetness of sucrose, but that the degree to which an aroma was perceived to smell sweet was significantly correlated to whether the aroma was regarded to be food or non-food-like.”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [103]
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- Authors
- Stevenson, R. J.
- Affiliations
- Macquarie University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Stevenson, R. J.
- ORCID
- Stevenson, R. J.
- Venue
- Chemical Senses
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 1999-12-01
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 627-635
- ISSN
- 0379-864X (ISSN-L)
- 1464-3553
- OpenAlex
- W2152751997
- Cited by
- 394
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 49 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 4.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Chemical Senses (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
- Australian Research Council
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Olfactory and Sensory Function Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods
- Keywords
- taste perception, sweetness enhancement, sucrose, citric acid, taste liking, odor intensity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Odorants, Perception, Smell, Taste
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