A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in Austria
The umami taste is well validated in Asian culture but remains less recognized and accepted in European cultures despite its presence in natural local products. This study explored the sensory and emotional perceptions of umami in 233 Austrian participants who had lived in Austria for most of their...
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Foods |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/1/22 |
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| author | Emilia Iannilli Emilise Lucerne Pötz Thomas Hummel |
| author_facet | Emilia Iannilli Emilise Lucerne Pötz Thomas Hummel |
| author_sort | Emilia Iannilli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The umami taste is well validated in Asian culture but remains less recognized and accepted in European cultures despite its presence in natural local products. This study explored the sensory and emotional perceptions of umami in 233 Austrian participants who had lived in Austria for most of their lives. Using blind tasting, participants evaluated monosodium glutamate (MSG) dissolved in water, providing open-ended verbal descriptions, pleasantness ratings, and comparisons to a sodium chloride (NaCl) solution. Discrimination tests excluded MSG ageusia, and basic demographic data were collected. A text semantic-based analysis (TSA) was employed to analyze the emotional valence and descriptive content of participants’ responses. The results showed that MSG was predominantly associated with neutral sentiments across the group, including both female and male subgroups. “Sour” was the most frequent taste descriptor, while “unfamiliar” characterized the perceptual experience. Pleasantness ratings for MSG and NaCl were positively correlated, suggesting that overcoming the unfamiliarity of umami could enhance its acceptance and align it with the pleasantness of salt. These findings advance the understanding of umami sensory perception and its emotional and cultural acceptance in European contexts, offering valuable insights for integrating umami into Western dietary and sensory frameworks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3748c89eba064b749f0c62adf242760b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj-art-3748c89eba064b749f0c62adf242760b2025-01-10T13:17:32ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582024-12-011412210.3390/foods14010022A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in AustriaEmilia Iannilli0Emilise Lucerne Pötz1Thomas Hummel2Department of Psychology, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, 8010 Graz, AustriaDepartment of Psychology, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, 8010 Graz, AustriaSmell & Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01307 Dresden, GermanyThe umami taste is well validated in Asian culture but remains less recognized and accepted in European cultures despite its presence in natural local products. This study explored the sensory and emotional perceptions of umami in 233 Austrian participants who had lived in Austria for most of their lives. Using blind tasting, participants evaluated monosodium glutamate (MSG) dissolved in water, providing open-ended verbal descriptions, pleasantness ratings, and comparisons to a sodium chloride (NaCl) solution. Discrimination tests excluded MSG ageusia, and basic demographic data were collected. A text semantic-based analysis (TSA) was employed to analyze the emotional valence and descriptive content of participants’ responses. The results showed that MSG was predominantly associated with neutral sentiments across the group, including both female and male subgroups. “Sour” was the most frequent taste descriptor, while “unfamiliar” characterized the perceptual experience. Pleasantness ratings for MSG and NaCl were positively correlated, suggesting that overcoming the unfamiliarity of umami could enhance its acceptance and align it with the pleasantness of salt. These findings advance the understanding of umami sensory perception and its emotional and cultural acceptance in European contexts, offering valuable insights for integrating umami into Western dietary and sensory frameworks.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/1/22text sentiment analysissensory analysiscultural acceptanceperception |
| spellingShingle | Emilia Iannilli Emilise Lucerne Pötz Thomas Hummel A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in Austria Foods text sentiment analysis sensory analysis cultural acceptance perception |
| title | A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in Austria |
| title_full | A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in Austria |
| title_fullStr | A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in Austria |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in Austria |
| title_short | A Survey on the Evaluation of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) Taste in Austria |
| title_sort | survey on the evaluation of monosodium glutamate msg taste in austria |
| topic | text sentiment analysis sensory analysis cultural acceptance perception |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/1/22 |
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