It tastes sweeter when melted: Exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness/vanilla
The relationship between perceived sweetness intensity and temperature of food is complex. Previous research on the effect of temperature on sweetness perception primarily focused on single solutions. This study aimed to address the gap by using an infrared camera to measure tongue surface temperatu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Science Talks |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569325000064 |
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| author | Hannah McNeill Rebecca Ford Ian Fisk Margaret Thibodeau Gloria Liu Marion Doyennette Qian Yang |
| author_facet | Hannah McNeill Rebecca Ford Ian Fisk Margaret Thibodeau Gloria Liu Marion Doyennette Qian Yang |
| author_sort | Hannah McNeill |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The relationship between perceived sweetness intensity and temperature of food is complex. Previous research on the effect of temperature on sweetness perception primarily focused on single solutions. This study aimed to address the gap by using an infrared camera to measure tongue surface temperature, explore tongue temperature ranges, the relationship between sweet/flavour and tongue temperature at different serving temperatures during real food consumption. Participants (n = 22) consumed custard served at warm (59.1 ± 0.8 °C), ambient (24 ± 0.6 °C), chilled (4.6 ± 0.5 °C), and frozen (−2.7 ± 0.3) temperatures. An infrared camera was used to capture participant tongue surface temperature. Sweetness and vanilla intensity were recorded using a modified General Labelled Magnitude Scale. This study demonstrated that infrared imaging could effectively capture tongue surface temperature. Results revealed tongue surface temperature recovered to baseline more efficiently after cooling than warming. A weak positive correlation was found between tongue surface temperature, perceived sweetness (r = 0.234, p-value = 0.002) and vanilla intensity (r = 0.226, p-value = 0.003). Perceived sweetness intensity was significantly higher for warm custard (tongue = 37.3 °C, sweetness = 20.5) than frozen custard (tongue = 27.1 °C, sweetness = 13.3). This suggests that temperature changes on the tongue during food consumption could significantly contribute to the perceived intensity of sweetness. The findings provide valuable insights to food industries interested in sugar reduction. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-13179ed4cc7840f3b35a1657c371df08 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2772-5693 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Science Talks |
| spelling | doaj-art-13179ed4cc7840f3b35a1657c371df082025-02-09T05:01:43ZengElsevierScience Talks2772-56932025-03-0113100424It tastes sweeter when melted: Exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness/vanillaHannah McNeill0Rebecca Ford1Ian Fisk2Margaret Thibodeau3Gloria Liu4Marion Doyennette5Qian Yang6School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham LE12 5RD, United Kingdom; Corresponding author.School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham LE12 5RD, United KingdomSchool of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham LE12 5RD, United KingdomSchool of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham LE12 5RD, United KingdomUnilever R&D Colworth Science Park Sharnbrook, MK44 1LQ, United KingdomUnilever Foods Innovation Centre Wageningen, Plantage 14, Wageningen, 6708, WJ, the NetherlandsSchool of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham LE12 5RD, United Kingdom; Corresponding author.The relationship between perceived sweetness intensity and temperature of food is complex. Previous research on the effect of temperature on sweetness perception primarily focused on single solutions. This study aimed to address the gap by using an infrared camera to measure tongue surface temperature, explore tongue temperature ranges, the relationship between sweet/flavour and tongue temperature at different serving temperatures during real food consumption. Participants (n = 22) consumed custard served at warm (59.1 ± 0.8 °C), ambient (24 ± 0.6 °C), chilled (4.6 ± 0.5 °C), and frozen (−2.7 ± 0.3) temperatures. An infrared camera was used to capture participant tongue surface temperature. Sweetness and vanilla intensity were recorded using a modified General Labelled Magnitude Scale. This study demonstrated that infrared imaging could effectively capture tongue surface temperature. Results revealed tongue surface temperature recovered to baseline more efficiently after cooling than warming. A weak positive correlation was found between tongue surface temperature, perceived sweetness (r = 0.234, p-value = 0.002) and vanilla intensity (r = 0.226, p-value = 0.003). Perceived sweetness intensity was significantly higher for warm custard (tongue = 37.3 °C, sweetness = 20.5) than frozen custard (tongue = 27.1 °C, sweetness = 13.3). This suggests that temperature changes on the tongue during food consumption could significantly contribute to the perceived intensity of sweetness. The findings provide valuable insights to food industries interested in sugar reduction.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569325000064Thermal imagingSweetness perceptionTongue surface temperature |
| spellingShingle | Hannah McNeill Rebecca Ford Ian Fisk Margaret Thibodeau Gloria Liu Marion Doyennette Qian Yang It tastes sweeter when melted: Exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness/vanilla Science Talks Thermal imaging Sweetness perception Tongue surface temperature |
| title | It tastes sweeter when melted: Exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness/vanilla |
| title_full | It tastes sweeter when melted: Exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness/vanilla |
| title_fullStr | It tastes sweeter when melted: Exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness/vanilla |
| title_full_unstemmed | It tastes sweeter when melted: Exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness/vanilla |
| title_short | It tastes sweeter when melted: Exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness/vanilla |
| title_sort | it tastes sweeter when melted exploring the impact of food temperature on tongue temperature and perceived sweetness vanilla |
| topic | Thermal imaging Sweetness perception Tongue surface temperature |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772569325000064 |
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