Diversity of perceptions of meat tenderness and juiciness by consumers: A time-intensity study

Seven judges, untrained in sensory assessment, were trained in the use of Time Intensity (TI) and asked to monitor the tenderness and juiciness of a range of cooked beef and pork samples. The subjects were given no definitions concerning sensory cues to monitor in their assessments, nor did they confer with each other. The shapes of the Tl curves they recorded for tenderness and juiciness differed between individuals, although there were similarities in the curve shapes for the 2 attributes for each individual. Correlations between the intensity parameters of the curves (maximum intensity and are under curve) and the chewing time were not significant for the subjects as a group for tenderness, although significantly correlations were found for some of the subjects when examined individually. The results indicate that subjects differ in their concepts of sensory tenderness and juiciness, and that perceived tenderness does not correlate with chewing time for all subjects. In more general terms the study supports the use of Tl assessments for interpreting individual differences in sensory perceptions.