Comparison of differences between lexicons for descriptive analysis of Cheddar cheese flavour in Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States of America

Flavour lexicons for cheese provide a way to document cheese flavour for both research and marketing. The objective of this study was to compare differences and similarities in three independently developed sensory languages for Cheddar cheese flavour at three different locations (Ireland, New Zealand, United States of America) using an international selection of Cheddar cheeses. Twelve Cheddar cheeses (four from each country) were evaluated by the three panels using the respective sensory languages. Sensory space patterns obtained by principal component analysis were consistent between the three sites indicating that the overall differentiation of the cheeses by each panel was similar. The key flavour characteristics among the cheeses were described by different attributes. Cheeses were grouped by each site by country of origin suggesting international differences in Cheddar cheese flavour. Cross-cultural differences can exist in sensory language and perception, but highly trained panels using standardized, representative languages can provide comparable results.