Practical Report Ranking
Mette Daamen, Britt Koks & Suzie Rademakers
Introduction
The ranking test is an analytical test, used to determine flavor, taste, or odor intensities of
products. Together with hedonic testing, where the intensity that the participant likes most
is determined. So, the optimum intensity of a flavor, taste, or odor in a product can be
determined. In this practical, the participants were asked to compare different solutions of
salt and sugar and place them in order from non-intense to intense. They were also asked to
place the solutions in order of preference.
Research questions
1) Are WUR students following the course Basic Sensory Science able to distinguish between
solutions with different salt and sugar concentrations?
2) What is the relationship between the perceived intensity of the samples and the
preference ranking for sweetness and saltiness?
Hypothesis
1) It is hypothesized that the participants are able to distinguish the samples with different
salt and sugar concentrations.
2) It is hypothesized that participants prefer a medium concentration of sugar and the
lowest concentration of salt.
Materials & Methods
Materials
- 5 different concentrations sugar solutions (0%; 0.95%; 1.9%; 3.8%; 7.5%)
- Identification codes sugar solutions (235, 325, 523, 352, 253)
- 5 different concentrations salt solutions (0%; 0.2%; 0.5%; 0.9%; 1.9%)
- Identification codes salt solutions (689, 698, 896, 968, 869)
- 10 small identical cups
- Glass of water
- Marker
- Laptop with the questionnaire
Methods
Firstly, the researcher prepares five cups with five different sugar concentrations. The
researcher codes theses cups with an identification code referring to the concentration. Only
the researcher knows which code belongs to which concentration. Then the five cups are
placed in a random order. The participant is asked to open the questionnaire and read the
instructions carefully. Then the participant gets the samples one by one. The participant
should take small sips of every sample, and may taste every sample as often as needed. It is
important that the participant rinses the mouth in between every sample and waits 10
seconds before tasting a new sample. Finally, the participant indicates the ranking for
intensity and preference in the questionnaire.
The same methods are used for the salt solutions.
Mette Daamen, Britt Koks & Suzie Rademakers
Introduction
The ranking test is an analytical test, used to determine flavor, taste, or odor intensities of
products. Together with hedonic testing, where the intensity that the participant likes most
is determined. So, the optimum intensity of a flavor, taste, or odor in a product can be
determined. In this practical, the participants were asked to compare different solutions of
salt and sugar and place them in order from non-intense to intense. They were also asked to
place the solutions in order of preference.
Research questions
1) Are WUR students following the course Basic Sensory Science able to distinguish between
solutions with different salt and sugar concentrations?
2) What is the relationship between the perceived intensity of the samples and the
preference ranking for sweetness and saltiness?
Hypothesis
1) It is hypothesized that the participants are able to distinguish the samples with different
salt and sugar concentrations.
2) It is hypothesized that participants prefer a medium concentration of sugar and the
lowest concentration of salt.
Materials & Methods
Materials
- 5 different concentrations sugar solutions (0%; 0.95%; 1.9%; 3.8%; 7.5%)
- Identification codes sugar solutions (235, 325, 523, 352, 253)
- 5 different concentrations salt solutions (0%; 0.2%; 0.5%; 0.9%; 1.9%)
- Identification codes salt solutions (689, 698, 896, 968, 869)
- 10 small identical cups
- Glass of water
- Marker
- Laptop with the questionnaire
Methods
Firstly, the researcher prepares five cups with five different sugar concentrations. The
researcher codes theses cups with an identification code referring to the concentration. Only
the researcher knows which code belongs to which concentration. Then the five cups are
placed in a random order. The participant is asked to open the questionnaire and read the
instructions carefully. Then the participant gets the samples one by one. The participant
should take small sips of every sample, and may taste every sample as often as needed. It is
important that the participant rinses the mouth in between every sample and waits 10
seconds before tasting a new sample. Finally, the participant indicates the ranking for
intensity and preference in the questionnaire.
The same methods are used for the salt solutions.
