Sensory Basics
What are the three main sensory characteristics of food products?
Appearance, flavor, and texture.
How does the tongue detect different tastes?
By taste buds responding to different shapes of molecules.
Where in the body is the olfactory bulb located?
At the base of the brain.
What is texture in terms of food sensory analysis?
Texture refers to how a food feels to the fingers, tongue, teeth, and palate.
What are the four main factors that influence food likes and dislikes?
Physical, cultural, environmental, and personal experiences.
What two things combine to create flavor?
Taste and aroma.
What happens to food molecules when you eat something sweet?
Sweet food molecules bind to sweet taste buds and send a message to the brain that the food is sweet.
What are the two pathways odors take to reach the olfactory bulb?
Through the nostrils and the back of the mouth.
What term describes a food’s resistance to pressure?
Firmness
What are some cultural influences on food choices?
Region, lifestyle, religion, and holidays.
Name the four basic tastes our tongue responds to.
Salty, bitter, sour, and sweet.
How does a person's genetic makeup influence their sense of taste?
It affects the number of taste buds and their ability to detect flavors (e.g., nontasters vs. supertasters).
What allows the nose to identify different odors in food?
Volatile particles that evaporate and become gaseous stimulate the olfactory nerves.
What does graininess in food refer to?
The size of the particles in a food product.
How do physical influences affect food preferences?
Genetic makeup, gender, health, and age affect the ability to taste and identify flavors.
What is the process by which the brain learns to associate nerve stimulation with specific foods or experiences?
The brain learns to associate nerve stimulation through the olfactory bulb and experiences.
What is taste bias?
When negative or positive experiences cause a person to dislike or prefer certain foods.
How does a person’s preference for certain odors develop?
Preferences are developed through a person’s experiences with specific odors.
Define chewiness and brittleness in food texture.
Chewiness is how well one part of a food slides past another without breaking, and brittleness is how easily a food shatters or breaks apart.
How do environmental factors influence food preferences?
Climate, geography, and fuel availability affect food costs and availability.