Sensory preferences among general Japanese consumers and physicochemical evaluation of deep-fried peanuts.

摘要

Background. The development of food that satisfies consumer preferences is very important for producing commodities. In the present study, 132 Japanese consumers carried out sensory evaluation of deep-fried peanuts with varying frying times (2, 4, 6, 9, 12 and 15 min) at 150 degrees C, and the relationships among sensory elements and physicochemical properties were investigated. Result. The sensory scores for colour, bitterness, and deep-fried peanut aroma increased (darker or stronger) with frying time, whereas the sweetness score was relatively high (strong) for frying times of 2, 4, 6 and 9 min, and then decreased (weaker) with increasing frying time. Frying times of 4, 6 and 9 min scored higher in overall liking than other times. Multiple-regression analysis indicated that the overall liking score was positively correlated with sweetness (standardised regression coefficient, beta = +0.51) and deep-fried peanut aroma ( beta = +0.26) scores but negatively correlated with bitterness score ( beta = -0.25). Multiple-regression analysis also indicated a difference in sensory preference by gender. Sensory elements were closely related to the physicochemical properties, including the colour indexes (CIELAB colour space) and the sucrose and water contents. When L * (CIELAB colour space, lightness index) was 53-64 and water content was 10-30 g kg-1, the mean overall liking score was relatively high implying acceptable fried peanut quality. Conclusion. Relationships among individual sensory elements were confirmed. Multiple-regression analysis indicated a strong positive correlation between sweetness and overall liking and a small difference in sensory preference by gender. Sensory evaluations can thus be expressed by physicochemical properties