The sensory quality of fresh bread: Descriptive attributes and consumer perceptions

To improve the understanding of what constitutes bread freshness, relationships between consumers’ perceptions of freshness and sensory character were determined for different bread types. Descriptive sensory analysis was carried out on 20 bread types, using a panel of twelve trained assessors and a defined vocabulary of 28 terms. Representative consumers (n = 115) rated the perceived freshness of ten different bread types using a labelled scale that was labeled with “not at all fresh” to “greatest freshness imaginable”. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical cluster analysis identified three consumer segments that were homogeneous in their freshness perceptions. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to investigate the relationships between consumers’ freshness perceptions for each segment and descriptive sensory data. Cluster analysis greatly enhanced the understanding of the consumer test results by indicating that expectations of bread freshness varied among consumers. Positive drivers of bread freshness for consumers in cluster one were “porous” appearance, and “floury” odour, while positive drivers for cluster two consumers were “malty” odour, and “sweet”, “buttery”, “oily” flavour. Cluster three consumers were positively driven by “porous” appearance, “floury”, “toasted” odour and “sweet” aftertaste. Using PLSR models, consumer freshness perceptions for the ten remaining breads not evaluated by consumers, but assessed by descriptive sensory analysis, were predicted for each consumer segment.