EXTRACTING PARAMETERS FROM TIME-INTENSITY CURVES USING A TRAPEZOID MODEL: THE EXAMPLE OF SOME SENSORY ATTRIBUTES OF ICE CREAM

The aim of this work was to develop a new modeling method of time-intensity curves by utilizing the simple shape of a trapezoid. Using a computerized procedure, time-intensity data were collected from panelists evaluating sensory attributes of ice creams. The method was based on the extraction of four values on the time axis, corresponding to 5 and 90% of the maximum intensity value, both in the increasing and decreasing phases of the curve. These intensity levels were chosen because they permitted to rub out some artifacts for intensities close to zero and in the maximum intensity plateau region. Kinetic parameters (duration and rate of the increasing and decreasing phases of the sensation, duration of the maximum intensity) were calculated from the coordinates of the trapezoid, allowing to differentiate ice creams. They were found to bring complementary information in comparison with traditional intensity scaling. In the present paper, the fat content was identified as modifier of the maximum fruitiness intensity of ice creams and of the kinetic of flavor release.