Principles of Food Science, 4th Edition Page 65 (87 of 880)

65
Chapter 3 Sensory Evaluation: The Human Factor
People’s ability to taste is partially related to the number of taste
buds inherited. A microscope reveals that supertasters can have as
many as 1,100 taste buds per square centimeter on their tongues.
The nontasters have been found to have as few as 40 taste buds per
square centimeter.
Other studies at Yale University show that women’s ability to
perceive bitter tastes varies with their hormone cycles. High levels of
certain hormones cause bitter tastes to seem more intense. This may
partially account for the change in food cravings and preferences for
many women during pregnancy.
Psychological Infl uences
There is also a psychological aspect to food likes and dislikes.
Research shows that many adults who detest a particular food became
Is There a Link Between Taste-Bud
Sensitivity and Weight?
In 1930, it was
discovered that some
people can taste a bitter
compound called 6-n-propyl-
thiouracil (PROP), while others cannot. The
ability to taste PROP is inherited, scientists
learned. These facts generated interest in
researching relationships between the ability
to taste PROP and food preferences.
A later study showed that PROP tasters
rated dairy products as creamier than did the
PROP nontasters. This caused some scientists
to believe the PROP test could reveal more than
people’s tolerance to bitter fl avors. Further
research revealed the following:
• Caucasians are 25% nontasters,
50% medium tasters, and 25% supertasters.
• Nontasters prefer higher-fat salad
dressings.
• PROP tasters taste sweetness more; are
more aware of texture in dairy products;
and are more sensitive to hotness in
peppers.
• Tasters use more adjectives to describe
what they taste than nontasters.
• A study that focused on women in their
forties indicated a connection between
PROP-tasting and weight status.
• Supertasters had an average BMI (Body
Mass Index) of 23.5; medium tasters, 26.6;
and nontasters, nearly 30.
Regarding the link between the PROP test
and body weight, there are important facts to
keep in mind. First, the BMI relationships are
true for women only. Secondly, self-control
can override taster status. The ability to resist
food urges can overrule the willingness to
try new foods.
It is too early to know what role PROP
research will play in the fi ght against obesity.
However, it is clear that the PROP test can
reveal risk factors.

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65
Chapter 3 Sensory Evaluation: The Human Factor
People’s ability to taste is partially related to the number of taste
buds inherited. A microscope reveals that supertasters can have as
many as 1,100 taste buds per square centimeter on their tongues.
The nontasters have been found to have as few as 40 taste buds per
square centimeter.
Other studies at Yale University show that women’s ability to
perceive bitter tastes varies with their hormone cycles. High levels of
certain hormones cause bitter tastes to seem more intense. This may
partially account for the change in food cravings and preferences for
many women during pregnancy.
Psychological Infl uences
There is also a psychological aspect to food likes and dislikes.
Research shows that many adults who detest a particular food became
Is There a Link Between Taste-Bud
Sensitivity and Weight?
In 1930, it was
discovered that some
people can taste a bitter
compound called 6-n-propyl-
thiouracil (PROP), while others cannot. The
ability to taste PROP is inherited, scientists
learned. These facts generated interest in
researching relationships between the ability
to taste PROP and food preferences.
A later study showed that PROP tasters
rated dairy products as creamier than did the
PROP nontasters. This caused some scientists
to believe the PROP test could reveal more than
people’s tolerance to bitter fl avors. Further
research revealed the following:
• Caucasians are 25% nontasters,
50% medium tasters, and 25% supertasters.
• Nontasters prefer higher-fat salad
dressings.
• PROP tasters taste sweetness more; are
more aware of texture in dairy products;
and are more sensitive to hotness in
peppers.
• Tasters use more adjectives to describe
what they taste than nontasters.
• A study that focused on women in their
forties indicated a connection between
PROP-tasting and weight status.
• Supertasters had an average BMI (Body
Mass Index) of 23.5; medium tasters, 26.6;
and nontasters, nearly 30.
Regarding the link between the PROP test
and body weight, there are important facts to
keep in mind. First, the BMI relationships are
true for women only. Secondly, self-control
can override taster status. The ability to resist
food urges can overrule the willingness to
try new foods.
It is too early to know what role PROP
research will play in the fi ght against obesity.
However, it is clear that the PROP test can
reveal risk factors.

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66
Unit 1 The Science of Food
ill after eating that food as a young
child. Although the food may not
have caused the illness, the person
will subconsciously link the two
events. When food becomes linked
with unpleasant memories, the
food will become distasteful to
one degree or another. This
psychological factor is believed
to be a protective mechanism of
the brain. It keeps you from eating
harmful substances again.
When negative experiences
cause a person to dislike a food, the
person has developed a taste bias.
Taste bias can also be caused by
positive experiences or taste
preferences, 3-3. Imagine entering
a lemon cake in a baking contest
where your competition is all types
of chocolate cakes. Suppose all
the judges prefer chocolate to
lemon. The judges would have
trouble judging your cake fairly if they were not aware of their taste
bias. Trained taste testers have to learn to put such food biases aside
when evaluating food products.
Other factors that can cause bias in food products are label terms
and brand names. Many students will state a brand preference, but
select a competitor’s brand in a blind taste test. Advertising, peers,
and setting infl uence this type of bias. Food manufacturers have found
such biases very diffi cult to overcome in the marketplace.
Cultural Infl uences
The cultural patterns of people’s lives strongly infl uence what
and how people eat. Culture is the beliefs and behaviors followed
by a group of people. These beliefs and behaviors are passed from
one generation to another. Region, lifestyle, religious practices, and
holiday traditions are all part of culture. For example, grits is a regional
food that is more likely to be served in the South than the Midwest.
The French lifestyle often includes daily shopping for fresh ingredients.
In French culture, few people rely on convenience foods like frozen
entrees for many meals. Traditionally, people of the Jewish religion
do not eat pork, and Hindu followers do not eat beef. In the United
States, the food most often eaten on Halloween is candy. In Mexico,
a similar holiday is celebrated with the serving of pan de muerto,
or bread of the dead.
© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
3-3 Many positive taste biases people have as adults are associated with
happy memories of their childhood.

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66
Unit 1 The Science of Food
ill after eating that food as a young
child. Although the food may not
have caused the illness, the person
will subconsciously link the two
events. When food becomes linked
with unpleasant memories, the
food will become distasteful to
one degree or another. This
psychological factor is believed
to be a protective mechanism of
the brain. It keeps you from eating
harmful substances again.
When negative experiences
cause a person to dislike a food, the
person has developed a taste bias.
Taste bias can also be caused by
positive experiences or taste
preferences, 3-3. Imagine entering
a lemon cake in a baking contest
where your competition is all types
of chocolate cakes. Suppose all
the judges prefer chocolate to
lemon. The judges would have
trouble judging your cake fairly if they were not aware of their taste
bias. Trained taste testers have to learn to put such food biases aside
when evaluating food products.
Other factors that can cause bias in food products are label terms
and brand names. Many students will state a brand preference, but
select a competitor’s brand in a blind taste test. Advertising, peers,
and setting infl uence this type of bias. Food manufacturers have found
such biases very diffi cult to overcome in the marketplace.
Cultural Infl uences
The cultural patterns of people’s lives strongly infl uence what
and how people eat. Culture is the beliefs and behaviors followed
by a group of people. These beliefs and behaviors are passed from
one generation to another. Region, lifestyle, religious practices, and
holiday traditions are all part of culture. For example, grits is a regional
food that is more likely to be served in the South than the Midwest.
The French lifestyle often includes daily shopping for fresh ingredients.
In French culture, few people rely on convenience foods like frozen
entrees for many meals. Traditionally, people of the Jewish religion
do not eat pork, and Hindu followers do not eat beef. In the United
States, the food most often eaten on Halloween is candy. In Mexico,
a similar holiday is celebrated with the serving of pan de muerto,
or bread of the dead.
© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
3-3 Many positive taste biases people have as adults are associated with
happy memories of their childhood.

64
Unit 1 The Science of Food
new food products? As researchers develop food products, they
try to look at the human factors that affect food choices. Then they
make predictions about a product’s potential for success or failure.
Food scientists have developed methods of evaluating the many
factors affecting food choices. The subjective part of their evaluation
is called sensory evaluation. Sensory evaluation is the human analysis
of the taste, smell, sound, feel, and appearance of food. This chapter
examines infl uences on a person’s food likes and dislikes. It also
discusses the way the human senses work and how researchers
conduct sensory evaluations.
Infl uences on Food Likes and Dislikes
Bruce wants his apple soft and sweet. Jonathan wants one that is
crisp and tart, and Larry wants his in a spicy apple pie. Larry fi nds
blackberries enjoyable and Jonathan says they are bitter. Although
these men are all related and have lived in the same home for years,
they like different foods. See 3-2.
Physical Infl uences
Physiologists, who study the human body, have discovered that
people inherit slightly different body chemistries. These differences
in body chemistry affect people’s perceptions of taste. You can
demonstrate this by using taste test strips. One kind of taste test strip
used in biology classes contains the chemical thiourea. Some people
will say the strips have a distinctively unpleasant taste. Others will
not taste anything.
Some people can see all the tints and shades of every color in
the rainbow. Other people are born color-blind and are unable to tell
whether an object is red or green. In the same way, a few people can
identify every fl avoring used in spicy fried chicken. However, some
people are born “taste blind.” They are unable to distinguish between
tastes. Your body’s genetic makeup will affect what you taste and
how well you can identify fl avors.
Number of taste buds, gender,
health, and age play roles in your
ability to detect fl avors. Studies
at Yale University demonstrated
that people can be classifi ed as
“supertasters,” “medium tasters,”
and “nontasters.” Supertasters are
people whose genetic makeup,
health conditions, and experiences
allow them to identify subtle
differences in fl avor and aroma. A
compound would be perceived as
very bitter by the supertasters and
nearly tasteless by the nontasters.
Janet Ward
3-2 People have different food preferences. Which of these apple-based
foods comes to your mind fi rst when you are hungry for apples?

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Page 89Unit 2 Basic Chemistry click to expand contents

Page 209Unit 3 Organic Chemistry: The Macronutrients click to expand contents

Page 367Unit 4 Food Chemistry: The Microcomponents click to expand contents

Page 491Unit 5 Food Microbiology: Living Organisms in Food click to expand contents

Page 571Unit 6 Food Preservation and Packaging click to expand contents

Page 669Unit 7 Working with Complex Food Systems click to expand contents

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