Sensory Characteristics and Consumer Preference of Smoked Dry-Cured Iberian Salchichon

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of applying a traditional-like mild-smoking treatment on the sensory characteristics and the consumer preference of small and medium diameter dry-cured Iberian Salchichons. A paired comparison test revealed a significant effect of the smoking treatment, but the descriptive test showed just a slight effect on the characteristics of the small diameter sausage (i.e., smoked flavor and cohesiveness) and no effect on the medium diameter sausages. Smoking affected consumer response. The consumer segmentation was found to be, the preference of the younger people increased with sausage smoking, but not those of older people.