2.2.2. Sensory analysis methods
Sensory methods are broadly classified into two main classes namely affective testing and analytical testing [27]. Affective testing which is also known as consumer testing deals with obtaining subjective data related to acceptance of the products. The range of testing can vary from simple comparative testing to structured questioning regarding the magnitude of acceptance of individual characteristics. Affective testing provides a good indication of a product’s potential prior to the development of packaging, pricing of product, advertising and market segmentation. Analytical tests consist of descriptive and discriminative/difference types. As a
major branch of the sensory science, descriptive analysis is widely used for collecting people’s sensory opinions on an object. Descriptive tests are used to obtain a total description of the sensory characteristics of a product, and to quantify differences between the products [28]. Rating the descriptors for the sensory characteristics of appearance, odor, flavor, texture and after-taste generates the sensory profile of the product. Difference testing is used to determine whether detectable differences exist between the products [29]. Discriminative tests can be used to establish thresholds and as a class of tests, represents one of the most useful
analytical tools available to the sensory professional [30], especially since such tests involve comparative judgments which can be very sensitive in determining small differences between the
products.