Survey on the Contribution of Odour to Food Preference:

Soybean Paste (Miso)

Abstract

We examined the correlation between the odour desirability and the overall desirability by a sensory evaluation of four kinds of soybean paste (miso), differing in the food material and/or fermentation period. Compared with the three other kinds of miso, soy miso was particularly disliked for both its odour and overall attributes. The results of the sensory evaluation also suggested that familiarity with the food contributed to its overall desirability. Most subjects seemed to be unfamiliar with soy miso and barley miso, although barley miso was acceptable as well as the two kinds of rice miso. The aromas of these four kinds of miso were then investigated by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatographic-olfactometric (GC-O) analysis. The results showed that soy miso had a characteristic odour which was undesirable and resulted in a low evaluation. The results of this survey of miso for food preference suggest that an unpleasant odour induced an overall dislike for it.