What is sensory language? This is a combination of five senses (vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell). Organoleptic evaluation of products is based on the use of sensory organs. For products, in particular, a combination of taste, texture, astringency and aroma is used. Sensory evaluation is an invaluable tool for quality control, as well as research and development. There is a whole science of using sensory methods - this is organoleptic.
An important component of quality control assessment
Customers perceive product quality with their feelings, and as a result, organoleptic evaluations are an important component of any quality control evaluations. All technical, chemical and microbiological parameters of the product may be within the specification, but if the product does not meet sensory expectations or does not work well with a competitor, product sales and brand image can be severely affected. Organoleptic research and evaluation methods can also be used to develop sensory profiles when developing new products. Sensory evaluations are performed in such basic organoleptic categories as taste, texture, smell and color.
What are organoleptic indicators?
The following organoleptic indicators are distinguished:
- Taste - assesses the taste profile of products.
- Texture - evaluated the texture of the products.
- Color - colors are evaluated.
- Smell is an olfactory evaluation of products.
Sensory (organoleptic) analysis is a scientific discipline that applies the principles of experimental design and statistical analysis to the use of human senses (vision, smell, taste, touch and hearing) for the purpose of evaluating consumer goods.
Organoleptic properties of food
The organoleptic properties of food and other factors have a decisive effect on consumption and commercial success. Therefore, it is necessary to study, define and evaluate them correctly. Organoleptic properties are described as: smell, taste, color, texture and so on.
Attract the results of qualitative and quantitative value. It should be noted that the sensory reaction is due to combinations of chemical sensations perceived by the example of taste buds in the tongue and palate, essentially non-volatile molecules, and a smell sensation obtained by interacting with olfactory receptors that are widespread in the nasal passages and mainly due to volatile substances .
How to evaluate the taste and texture? Obviously, the evaluation of these properties is carried out by specially prepared test panels to identify and evaluate flavorings and the appearance of certain products. Panels are difficult to install and maintain, and the current trend is to replace or at least supplement touch panels with methods such as odorless gas chromatography and a touch systematic description of experts. Modern methods of chemistry of aroma are limited and not too advanced technologically. Evaluation panels, as we stated above, should be aimed at a specific subject.
Taste
As mentioned above, taste perception occurs in taste buds located in the tongue and palate. Substances, as a rule, have a unique taste: what is perceived is often a complex sensation caused by one or more basic tastes: sour, salty, sweet and bitter. The product that you taste, sour, salty and sweet, in general, allows you to set rules related to the chemical functions or chemical structure of the product.
Salt tastes usually come from inorganic salts; sweet tastes can be predicted from the chemical structure; flavoring acids are carboxylic functions defined in the organic product and taste characteristic of inorganic acids.
Bitter taste does not obey the general rules, and bitter tastes are often found in a wide variety of chemical structures. However, amino acids and low molecular weight peptides are fairly well-documented rules for prediction. As a curiosity, we note that the bitter taste at low concentrations serves to highlight or improve the taste of foods, and in some cases as an indicator of quality.
Smell
What is organoleptic? This is a collection of sensory methods. The smell of food is in the nasal passages. Various methods are used to evaluate odors. In addition to instrumental methods using gas chromatographs and mass detectors, manual methods include knowing how recipients perceive odors. The taste is less dependent on the intensity, the smell is a function of the interaction with the olfactory receptors, and it can vary depending on the intensity (concentration), temperature and time of exposure, and in some cases the presence of additives that increase the sensitivity of the receptor (glutamate, inosinate, guanilate, etc. . d.).
A participant’s odor test can cause airflow through his nose up or down, that is, not only a sucking smell, but also odors of flying drops can be received through the oral cavity, or transported to the olfactory receptors. It should be noted that this form of smell is widely used by wine and beverage tasters in general, as it homogenizes temperature and humid air to increase the accuracy of the test.
Color
One indicator of organoleptic is color. Organoleptic properties are the most easily standardized assessment. To determine the color of liquid and solid solutions and special spectrophotometers when determining color, there are clearly defined color scales. However, they should describe the color of the products, as there are nuances that only the human eye is capable of. Liquids and solids can represent interference perceptions: transparency, opalescence in liquids, particle size, brightness, opacity of solids.
Texture
Sensory judgments can be scaled to “accept” or “sympathy,” or specifically described by specific terminology. The scale can be used to assess overall quality or specific quality attributes. The texture and appearance of powdered solids in liquids together serve to describe various physical properties. The texture of solids is affected by particle size, hygroscopicity of the product, grinding, plasticity, and so on.
In liquids, the “appearance” changes mainly depending on their rheological properties and uniformity. Organoleptic methods are subjective, sensory judgments based on the experience of the evaluator. Tasters can watch, taste, chew or otherwise taste products to judge the appearance, color, integrity, texture and tastes of the product.
Organoleptic Method: Organoleptic
Most large consumer goods companies have sensory analysis departments. These judgments are very often used to test various categories of products, such as dairy products, seafood (fresh, frozen, chilled or cooked) and so on. The desirable and undesirable features of various judgment methods have been investigated.
The organoleptic methods under consideration are methods that use the senses as the primary measuring device. Therefore, they are sensory methods of analysis, in contrast to physical, chemical and microbiological methods. Moreover, it is worth noting that this is not only a tasting, which is a sample of a certain product on the palate. A variety of organs can be involved in the analysis.
Organoleptic is a science that is based on the natural sensations of a person. In culinary art, these methods are used to naturally assess criteria such as the quality of the finished dish and a wide variety of culinary products. Such considered criteria as taste, color, texture and smell are called organoleptic indicators by which the quality of products is evaluated.