Developing a descriptive analysis procedure for evaluating the sensory characteristics of soy sauce

The intense and complex flavor characteristics of soy sauce makes it very difficult to obtain a comprehensive sensory profiling, and an effective descriptive analysis protocol for soy sauce products has not yet been established. The aims of this study were (1) to establish an objective, effective, and powerful descriptive analysis procedure that can be used to understand the sensory characteristics of soy sauce products and (2) to evaluate the sensory characteristics of 6 fermented type soy sauces with high market share in Korea. The test procedures, reference standards, and definitions for the descriptive terms of soy sauces were developed by 8 trained panelists. Panelists developed 11 aroma attributes, 10 flavor attributes, and 1 mouth feel attribute for evaluating the sensory characteristics of soy sauces. The data set were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance and principal component analysis. There were significant differences among the soy sauce samples in the intensity of all the sensory attributes. The 1st and 2nd principal component (PC) explained 53.6% and 23.5% of the total variation, respectively. The basic taste attributes and fermented/chemical attributes were the dominant attributes defining PC1 and PC2 axes, respectively.