ABSTRACT
Fat content is a desirable quality in many foods. Creaminess of ice cream, richness of chocolate, and tenderness of steak are all positive and sought-after sensory attributes. Fats are responsible for the characteristic flavor, texture, and aroma of many foods, and contribute to the overall acceptance and palatability of the diet. Although fats play an increasingly important role in the American diet, surprisingly little is known about their sensory and hedonic characteristics. The General Foods Texture Profile (GFTP) introduced a number of anchored rating scales for the quantitative sensory evaluation of food texture. One important aspect of GFTP scales is that they are linked to psychophysical and instrumental measures. The reference standards used in the development of ordinal rating scales were tested using the General Foods Texturometer or a Brookfield viscometer. Evaluative scales, whether magnitude estimation or category scales, are a common tool in research on sensory perception.
