Isabella Endrizzi: Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy. ORCID
Danny Cliceri: Center Agriculture Food Environment, University of Trento/Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy. ORCID
Leonardo Menghi: Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy.
Eugenio Aprea: Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy. ORCID
Mathilde Charles: Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy.
Erminio Monteleone: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Via Donizetti 6, 50144 Florence, Italy. ORCID
Caterina Dinnella: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Via Donizetti 6, 50144 Florence, Italy. ORCID
Sara Spinelli: Department of Agricultural, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Via Donizetti 6, 50144 Florence, Italy. ORCID
Ella Pagliarini: Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy. ORCID
Monica Laureati: Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Luisa Torri: University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 9, 12042 Pollenzo, Italy. ORCID
Alessandra Bendini: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy. ORCID
Tullia Gallina Toschi: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy. ORCID
Fiorella Sinesio: CREA, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Center Food & Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy.
Stefano Predieri: Institute for Bioeconomy, CNR, National Research Council, Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy. ORCID
Flavia Gasperi: Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Edmund Mach 1, 38010 San Michele all'Adige, Italy. ORCID
This study, which was conducted as part of the Italian Taste project, was aimed at exploring the relationship between actual liking and sensory perception in four food models. Each food model was spiked with four levels of prototypical tastant (i.e., citric acid, sucrose, sodium chloride, capsaicin) to elicit a target sensation (TS) at an increasing perceived intensity. Participants (N = 2258; 59% women, aged 18-60) provided demographic information, a stated liking for 40 different foods/beverages, and their responsiveness to tastants in water. A food-specific Pearson's coefficient was calculated individually to estimate the relationship between actual liking and TS responsiveness. Considering the relationship magnitude, consumers were grouped into four food-specific clusters, depending on whether they showed a strong negative (SNC), a weak negative (WNC), a weak positive (WPC), or a strong positive correlation (SPC). Overall, the degree of liking raised in parallel with sweetness responsiveness, fell as sourness and pungency perception increased, and showed an inverted U-shape relationship with saltiness. The SNC clusters generally perceived TSs at higher intensities, except for sourness. Clusters were validated by associating the level of stated liking towards food/beverages; however, some unexpected indications emerged: adding sugar to coffee or preferring spicy foods differentiated those presenting positive correlations from those showing negative correlations. Our findings constitute a step towards a more comprehensive understanding of food preferences.
