Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutritional Sciences, Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-7624, USA.
J Dairy Sci. 2009 Dec;92(12):5883-97. doi: 10.3168/jds.2009-2389.
In the past 2 decades, total sales of cottage cheese have declined 17% despite increases in sales for low-fat cottage cheese. There are no recent published studies investigating consumer preferences for cottage cheese. This study was conducted to identify and define sensory characteristics of commercial cottage cheese and to compare 2 approaches for characterizing consumer preferences: traditional preference mapping and a new composite qualitative approach, qualitative multivariate analysis (QMA). A sensory language was identified to document the sensory properties (visual, flavor, and texture) of cottage cheeses. Twenty-six commercial cottage cheeses with variable fat contents (4, 2, 1, and 0% fat) were evaluated by trained panelists using the sensory language. Eight representative cottage cheeses were selected for consumer acceptance testing (n = 110) and QMA with consumer home usage testing (n = 12), followed by internal and external preference mapping to identify key drivers. Principal component analysis of descriptive data indicated that cottage cheeses were primarily differentiated by cooked, milkfat, diacetyl, and acetaldehyde flavors and salty taste, and by firmness, smoothness, tackiness, curd size, and adhesiveness texture attributes. Similar drivers of liking (diacetyl and milkfat flavors, smooth texture, and mouthcoating) were identified by both consumer research techniques. However, the QMA technique identified controversial distinctions among the cottage cheeses and the influence of brand and pricing. These results can be used by processors to promote cottage cheese sales.
在过去的 20 年中，尽管低脂奶酪的销量有所增加，但奶酪的总销量却下降了 17%。目前还没有关于消费者对奶酪偏好的最新研究。本研究旨在确定和定义商业奶酪的感官特征，并比较两种描述消费者偏好的方法：传统偏好映射和新的复合定性方法，定性多元分析（QMA）。确定了一种感官语言来记录奶酪的感官特性（视觉、风味和质地）。使用感官语言，由经过培训的品评员评估了 26 种脂肪含量不同的商业奶酪（4%、2%、1%和 0%脂肪）。选择了 8 种有代表性的奶酪进行消费者接受度测试（n = 110）和 QMA 与消费者家庭使用测试（n = 12），然后进行内部和外部偏好映射以确定关键驱动因素。描述性数据分析的主成分分析表明，奶酪主要通过煮熟、乳脂、双乙酰和乙醛风味以及咸味，以及通过硬度、平滑度、粘性、凝块大小和粘性质地属性来区分。两种消费者研究技术都确定了喜欢的相似驱动因素（双乙酰和乳脂风味、光滑的质地和满口感）。然而，QMA 技术却能分辨出奶酪之间存在争议性的差异，以及品牌和价格的影响。这些结果可被加工商用来促进奶酪的销售。
