PAIRED COMPARISON AND TIME‐INTENSITY MEASUREMENTS OF THE SENSORY PROPERTIES OF BEVERAGES AND GELATINS CONTAINING SUCROSE OR SYNTHETIC SWEETENERS

ABSTRACT By paired comparison methods, concentrations of 0.75% and 0.86% calcium cyclamate and of 0.17% and 0.19% aspartame were equivalent in sweetness to 10% sucrose in distilled water at 3° and 22°C, respectively. Inherent bitterness of the compounds prevented precise assessment of relative sweetness for sodium saccharin in distilled water, and for the saccharin and cyclamate in flavored drinks. By application of linear regression to the paired comparison data, 0.07% aspartame was calculated as equal in sweetness to 10% sucrose in lemon, strawberry and orange drinks. Because the underlying bitterness of saccharin interfered with assessment of its sweetness, a time‐intensity technique was applied. Using a chart recorder to monitor time, time‐intensity (T‐I) measurements were made of the intensity and the duration of sweetness, bitterness, sourness and flavor in distilled water, and the same characteristics, plus flavor in three flavored drinks, and two flavored gelatins, sweetened with sucrose, cyclamate, or saccharin. T‐I curves for the sensory properties of aspartame closely resembled those for sucrose in all media. Cyclamate and saccharin imparted a marked, persistent bitterness to all carriers. In gelatin, samples containing 18% sucrose were firmer initially and took longer to manipulate to a liquid in the mouth than did gelatins containing 0.105% aspartame, 0.55% cyclamate, or 0.05% saccharin.