Effects of bitterness, roughness, PROP taster status, and Fungiform papillae density on bread acceptance.

Abstract

Consumption of whole grain foods, including whole wheat bread, has been linked to reduced risk of coronary heart disease, type II diabetes, certain cancers, and all cause mortality, but consumption falls far below recommended levels. Conventional wisdom dictates that refined bread is better liked than whole wheat bread, but support for this contention is scarce. If refined bread is preferred to whole wheat bread, determining the specific attributes or consumer characteristics that contribute to the disliking of whole wheat bread would provide food processors with the knowledge needed to develop technologies to improve the acceptability of whole wheat bread and to test acceptance of these products with consumers. In phase one of this study, we examined consumer preferences for refined and whole wheat breads. In phase two, we examined how two consumer characteristics, sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and fungiform papillae density, affected perception of bitterness and roughness, two attributes that may contribute to whole wheat bread dislike. In phase three, we examined how three sensory properties, bitterness, roughness, and color and three consumer characteristics, bread type preference (whole or refined), perceived PROP intensity, and fungiform papillae density, affect bread liking.