Exploring the effects of mixture composition factors and perceptual interactions on the perception of icewine odor: An olfactometer-based study.

The perception of food odor, derived from complex mixtures of odorants, remains poorly understood. This study investigated how key odorants of icewine influence odor mixture perception and mixture-induced perceptual interactions. A multichannel olfactometer was used to deliver 90 mixtures to 36 trained participants who used a Rate-All-That-Apply method to rate the odor samples. Results showed that adding odorants to a mixture affected both the characteristic odor of the individual component and other odor characteristics, revealing specific perceptual interactions. Combining up to six odorants with icewine odor influenced a maximum of two odor characteristics in the mixture, regardless of the specific combination. Interestingly, adding odorants had a stronger impact on the overall mixture odor profile than omitting them, particularly when manipulating fewer than three odorants. These findings emphasize the complexity of odor mixture perception and provide new insights into the influence of key odorants on the aroma of wine.

A dataset of consumer perceptions of gustometer-controlled stimuli measured with three temporal sensory evaluation methods.

This paper describes data on the consumer sensory perception of liquid mixtures including sapid and aromatic compounds. A total of 149 consumers participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to one of three panels. Each panel used a different temporal sensory evaluation method among Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS, n = 50), Temporal Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA, n = 50) and Attack-Evolution-Finish Rate-All-That-Apply (AEF-RATA, n = 49) to evaluate solutions delivered by a gustometer (Burghart GU002). First, four simple solutions (composed of a single compound) were delivered to the consumers to evaluate their recognition ability using Free Comment. Second, eighteen complex solutions (composed of two to five compounds varying in their sequence, intensity and duration of stimulation) were delivered to the consumers to evaluate their ability to use the three temporal evaluation methods. The compounds included sodium chloride ("salty"), saccharose ("sweet"), citric acid ("acid"), citral ("lemon") and basil hydrosol ("basil"). The data were used to assess the validity and reliability of the temporal sensory methods in an article entitled "Assessment of the validity and reliability of temporal sensory evaluation methods used with consumers on controlled stimuli delivered by a gustometer". The data could be reused by researchers interested in studying the effect of interactions between sapid and aromatic compounds on perception.

Assessing the contribution of odor-active compounds in icewine considering odor mixture-induced interactions through gas chromatography-olfactometry and Olfactoscan.

The sensory impact of odor-active compounds on icewine aroma could be influenced by perceptual interactions with other odor-active compounds. The aim of this study was to establish an approach to evaluate the contribution of odor-active compounds found in icewine considering mixture-induced perceptual interactions. By comparing the impact of key odorants detected in icewine following a gas chromatography-olfactometry approach with an Olfactoscan-based methodology using a background odor of icewine, 69 odor zones were detected, and their related compounds were further identified. The results revealed that icewine background odor could exert odor masking or enhancement on key odorants when they are considered in the complex wine aroma buffer. Several compounds can induce qualitative changes in the overall wine aroma. This study underlined the efficiency of Olfactoscan-like approaches to screen for the real impact of key odorants and to pinpoint specific compounds that could be highly influential once embedded in the aroma buffer.

Selecting odorant compounds to enhance sweet flavor perception by gas chromatography/olfactometry-associated taste (GC/O-AT).

Gas chromatography/olfactometry-associated taste (GC/O-AT) analysis combined with mass spectrometry allowed identification of odorant compounds associated with taste attributes (sweet, salty, bitter and sour) in a multi-fruit juice. Nine compounds were selected for their odor-associated sweetness enhancement in a multi-fruit juice odor context using Olfactoscan and for their odor-induced sweet taste enhancement in sucrose solution and sugar-reduced fruit juice through sensory tests. Sweetness of the fruit juice odor was significantly enhanced by methyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl butanoate, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate and linalool; sweet perception was significantly enhanced in 7% sucrose solution by ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, furaneol and γ-decalactone, and in 32% sugar-reduced fruit juice by ethyl 2-methylbutanoate. GC/O-AT analysis is a novel, efficient approach to select odorants associated with a given taste. The further screening of taste-associated odorants by Olfactoscan helps to identify the most efficient odorants to enhance a target taste perception and may be used to find new ways to modulate taste perception in foods and beverages.

Rabbit neonates and human adults perceive a blending 6-component odor mixture in a comparable manner.

Young and adult mammals are constantly exposed to chemically complex stimuli. The olfactory system allows for a dual processing of relevant information from the environment either as single odorants in mixtures (elemental perception) or as mixtures of odorants as a whole (configural perception). However, it seems that human adults have certain limits in elemental perception of odor mixtures, as suggested by their inability to identify each odorant in mixtures of more than 4 components. Here, we explored some of these limits by evaluating the perception of three 6-odorant mixtures in human adults and newborn rabbits. Using free-sorting tasks in humans, we investigated the configural or elemental perception of these mixtures, or of 5-component sub-mixtures, or of the 6-odorant mixtures with modified odorants' proportion. In rabbit pups, the perception of the same mixtures was evaluated by measuring the orocephalic sucking response to the mixtures or their components after conditioning to one of these stimuli. The results revealed that one mixture, previously shown to carry the specific odor of red cordial in humans, was indeed configurally processed in humans and in rabbits while the two other 6-component mixtures were not. Moreover, in both species, such configural perception was specific not only to the 6 odorants included in the mixture but also to their respective proportion. Interestingly, rabbit neonates also responded to each odorant after conditioning to the red cordial mixture, which demonstrates their ability to perceive elements in addition to configuration in this complex mixture. Taken together, the results provide new insights related to the processing of relatively complex odor mixtures in mammals and the inter-species conservation of certain perceptual mechanisms; the results also revealed some differences in the expression of these capacities between species putatively linked to developmental and ecological constraints.

Tap water consumers differ from non-consumers in chlorine flavor acceptability but not sensitivity.

Unpleasant taste and especially chlorine flavor is one of the most common reasons advocated for choosing tap water alternatives as drinking water. As a consequence, the putative link between sensitivity to chlorine flavor and tap water consumption is an issue in drinking water habits studies. In the present study, we set out to examine such a link following a strategy in which we measured chlorine flavor perception at threshold and supra-threshold level for two groups of participants selected on their drinking water consumption habits. The first group included exclusive tap water consumers and the second group included exclusive bottled water consumers. In a first experiment, we used the constant stimuli procedure to evaluate the chlorine flavor detection threshold of a group of 20 tap water consumers and a group of 20 non-consumers. In a second experiment, a group of 18 tap water consumers and a group of 17 non-consumers evaluated supra-threshold flavor intensity, liking and acceptability for eight chlorinated solutions (0-10mg/L Cl(2)). The results revealed no significant difference in chlorine flavor detection threshold and supra-threshold sensitivity between tap water consumers and non-consumers. Nevertheless, tap water consumers showed a higher liking score for chlorinated solutions and were found to be more inclined to accept these solutions as drinking water. Taken together these findings suggested that consumers may disparage chlorine flavor in drinking water on the basis of their tap water cognitive representation.

Perceptual processing strategy and exposure influence the perception of odor mixtures.

In flavor perception, both experience with the components of odor/taste mixtures and the cognitive strategy used to examine the interactions between the components influence the overall mixture perception. However, the effect of these factors on odor mixtures perception has never been studied. The present study aimed at evaluating whether 1) previous exposure to the odorants included in a mixture or 2) the synthetic or analytic strategy engaged during odorants mixture evaluation determines odor representation. Blending mixtures, in which subjects perceived a unique quality distinct from those of components, were chosen in order to induce a priori synthetic perception. In the first part, we checked whether the chosen mixtures presented blending properties for our subjects. In the second part, 3 groups of participants were either exposed to the odorants contributing to blending mixtures with a "pineapple" or a "red cordial" odor or nonexposed. In a following task, half of each group was assigned to a synthetic or an analytical task. The synthetic task consisted of rating how typical (i.e., representative) of the target odor name (pineapple or red cordial) were the mixtures and each of their components. The analytical task consisted of evaluating these stimuli on several scales labeled with the target odor name and odor descriptors of the components. Previous exposure to mixture components was found to decrease mixture typicality but only for the pineapple blending mixture. Likewise, subjects engaged in an analytical task rated both blending mixtures as less typical than did subjects engaged in a synthetic task. This study supports a conclusion that odor mixtures can be perceived either analytically or synthetically according to the cognitive strategy engaged.