Acceptability of Milk and Soymilk Vanilla Beverages. Demographics Consumption Frequency and Sensory Aspects

Acceptance of food is basically the result of the interaction between food and human and it depends not only on the product characteristics but also on those of each consumer. The main objective of this work is to analyse how the acceptability of milk and soymilk vanilla beverages is influenced by demographic characteristics, consumer habits and individual preferences and the sensorial properties of both products. Six commercial samples, comprising three milk beverages and three soymilk beverages of different brands and characteristics, were sensorially evaluated. Overall acceptability was tested by 142 consumers, using a 9-point hedonic scale and 36 assessors ranked the samples from the least to the most intense according to their yellow colour, brightness, vanilla flavour intensity, sweetness and thickness. The milk samples were significantly (P< 0.05) more acceptable than the soymilk ones and were perceived as being stronger yellow and less light in colour, with a more intense sweetness, stronger vanilla flavour and thicker consistency. The results obtained lead us to the conclusion that the difference in acceptability between milk and soymilk beverages is more closely related to their sensorial attributes than to other characteristics (demographic, consumer habits and individual preferences) of the consumer population surveyed.