ASSOCIATION OF THE SENSORY PROPERTIES OF COMMERCIAL, STRAWBERRY FLAVORED FERMENTED MILKS WITH PRODUCT COMPOSITION

Sensory profiling was carried out on 36 varieties of commercial, straw berry flavoured fermented milk products by a panel of 15 trained asses sors. The samples were rated according to six aroma attributes, eight descriptors of flavour, three for after-taste, and five attributes to describe mouth feel. The fermented milks were classified into nine gro ups according to the image portrayed in the product label. There was s ubstantial overlap in sensory character between product groupings. Cre amy and natural character were the most important discriminant attribu tes, but differences in chalky mouth feel were also significant. Cream y character was associated with the concentration of both fat and prot ein. In contrast, chalky character was associated with protein content alone. Supplementary evidence suggested that addition of starch or ge latine modified sensory character, albeit in different ways.