From sensory evaluation to sensory and consumer research of food: An autobiographical perspective

• Sensory and consumer research of foods has grown into a powerful discipline.
• Several tools are now available for segmenting consumers to better predict preferences.
• Genetics of food perceptions and preferences increasingly interests researchers.
• Research career requires persistent desire to learn, interaction in scientific community and excellence in communication.

During the past decades, sensory evaluation of food quality has evolved and grown into a discipline that covers sensory and consumer research of foods and beverages. The present review deals with those aspects of the development in which I have been personally involved and have considered inspiring and important subject matters in the field. They are consumer responses to (1) salt, (2) fat, and (3) unfamiliar foods; (4) food choice and socio-cognitive segmentation, (5) responses to food in the elderly and young; and (6) genetic origins of food preferences. Perspectives of the field and of these specific areas are discussed, and some “words of wisdom” are offered for the younger generation of sensory-consumer researchers.