Quality & Sensory
Sensory evaluation
The measurement of food attributes through the human senses under controlled conditions. Discriminative tests detect difference, descriptive tests characterise it, affective tests measure liking.
Real-life application
The formal tasting panels food companies run before launching a new product, deciding things like whether a new biscuit is “too sweet.”
Related terms
Triangle test
Quality & SensoryA discriminative sensory test in which a panellist receives three samples, two identical, and identifies the odd one.
Hedonic scale
Quality & SensoryAn affective sensory scale measuring degree of liking, most commonly the 9-point scale from dislike extremely to like extremely.
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