Comparison of partial and global projective mapping with consumers: A case study with satiating cheese pies

•We compared global (G), flavor (F) and texture (T) projective mapping (PM).•A similar vocabulary was used but F and T gathered more detailed information than G.•Flavor was primary used by consumers when evaluating global differences.•PM was useful to detect small differences in sensory features as in reformulated food.

In the present work the performance of global projective mapping and partial projective mapping based on texture and flavor for sensory characterization of a novel food category (satiating food product) was compared. Eight different fresh-cheese pie formulations were designed to obtain different sensory (principally texture) characteristics which could affect expected satiating perception. Three groups of consumers evaluated the samples using one of the following methodologies: global projective mapping (G-PM) (n = 47), partial projective mapping based on flavor (F-PM) (n = 53), and partial projective mapping based on texture (T-PM) (n = 61). In addition, the expected satiating capacity of each cheese pie sample was scored on a nine-point scale. Results showed that the vocabulary used by consumers for describing the sensory characteristics of samples did not largely differ between global and partial projective mapping tasks. However, T-PM and F-PM tasks provided more detailed information than G-PM in each specific modality. Results suggested that when consumers performed the global projective mapping task they mainly took into account flavor characteristics for evaluating global similarities and differences among samples. In addition, hedonic attributes were more frequently mentioned in G-PM. Fresh cheese, sugar, corn starch and egg were the basic ingredients that conferred the fresh-cheese pies their typical, characteristic flavor and texture. The addition of whey or soy proteins, wheat bran or glucomannan increased expected satiating capacity which could be related to changes in texture (harder, more compact) leading to longer orosensory exposure. The addition of glucomannan caused the largest changes in the sensory characteristics of the cheese pies which in turn would be related to a decrease in perceived flavor intensity. Studying the interplay between formulations, sensory characteristics, expected satiating capacity and consumer liking could largely contribute to the development of this novel food category.