Dynamic changes of taste experiences in wine and cheese combinations

ABSTRACT

The ideal cheese and wine combination might be relatively subjective, depending on personal preference, context factors, previous knowledge and experience of food and wine. The aim of this study was to (I) explore consumer liking for wine and cheese pairs; to (II) explore whether either wine or cheese dominates a combination and to (III) understand the relationship between consumer liking and the dynamic taste experience. Consumer testing was performed in a restaurant setting where 45 consumers evaluated liking and dominance of combinations of cheese and wine as a part of a conference lunch. In a laboratory, Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS) was used to analyse the dynamic responses of five wines and Roquefort Société tasted in a mixed tasting. Results show significant differences between the wines for dominance and liking for the wines and cheese. A sweet and fruity dessert wine together with the cheese scored high for liking and no dominance was indicated of either wine or cheese. TDS is found to be a useful method to provide additional information about sensory attributes that give a high liking score, showing the dynamic in the eating process.

KEYWORDS:

• TDS
• food pairing
• real meal setting

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank assistant professor Mischa Billing for discussions regarding selection and descriptions of wines.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Tobias Nygren http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9035-9823

Asgeir Nikolai Nilsen http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5761-8619

Åsa Öström http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8848-5812

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Grythyttan Scholarship Foundation.