Creamy Perception I: In Model Dessert Creams

Model caramel creams containing four levels of dairy fat and nine levels of xanthan gum as thickener were tasted and submitted to viscometric measurements. The panel of 15 tasters evaluated their liking of the consistency, the perceived creaminess and the thickness, using a magnitude estimation scoring method. Results were correlated with rheological parameters: viscosity and flow behavior index. There is a quadratic relationship between rheological parameters and both liking consistency and perceived creaminess, with an optimum value. The optimum liking does not coincide with that for maximum creaminess; these values depend on the amount of the two ingredients: fat content and thickener. They can be obtained from response surfaces. The perceived thickness is related to viscosity. Some modalities of changes in optimal values for different groups of people are considered.