Sensory drivers of goso flavor in soymilk: Understanding a complex traditional Korean sensory attribute

• Flavor of nuts and cooked soybean attributes were sensory drivers of goso flavor in soymilk.
• Raw soybean aroma and flavor were negative determinants of goso flavor in soymik.
• A group of consumers weighed flavor of nuts more when assessing goso flavor.
• The other group weighed cooked soybean attribute more for goso flavor judgment.
• For a group of consumers, goso flavor has hedonic connotation.

Goso flavor is a descriptive term in the Korean language that can be translated to “nuttiness.” However, its definition is not clearly identified yet. The usage of goso flavor in everyday life indicates its ambiguity and non-singularity. This study was conducted to identify the underlying sensory components of goso flavor perception, particularly in soymilk. Ten commercial soymilk samples were selected as a model system, and descriptive sensory profiles of these samples were obtained by 10 trained panelists. A total of 210 consumers rated goso flavor intensity and overall liking. The consumers were clustered according to their goso flavor rating, and then, the goso rating of each cluster was correlated to the sensory profile. Consumers were segmented into 3 clusters. Consumers in clusters 1 and 2 (n = 15 and n = 88, respectively) laid more emphasis on cooked soybean flavor, and consumers in cluster 3 (n = 107) weighed sweetness, saltiness, and flavor of nuts when they rated goso. Clusters 1 and 2 used the goso term in a more analytical way, whereas cluster 3 associated goso with hedonic dimension.