Sensory profiles of sweeteners in aqueous solutions

Sensory profiles of saccharin, acesulfame K, aspartame, and neotame were compared with that of sucrose in three different types of water (tap water, commerical Crystalis water, and distilled water) under the conditions of the respective ISO standards. The intensities of off-flavours, especially bitter and metallic tastes, were higher in the solutions of synthetic sweeteners than in that of sucrose. The aspartame solution was the sample closest to the sucrose solution, and the intensity of off-flavours was significantly higher in acesulfame solution. Ratings of the bitter taste were related to those of the metallic taste, the relation being semilogarithmic. The performancies of different assessors were nearly the same in all ratings, and the absolute values of the ratings of sweetness and different off-flavours had the same repeatabilities. The relative accuracy was, naturally, much higher in off-flavours than in the case of sweetness.