The relationship between the side tastes of masking stimuli and masking in binary mixtures

Subjects estimated the sweetness of HOH, NaCl, Q₂SO₄, sucroseand of the binary mixture of the three compounds. Another groupof subjects made independent estimates of the bitterness andsaltiness of HOH, Q₂SO₄, NaCl and of the binary mixtures ofNaCl and Q₂SO₄. Apart from their specific main taste, the stimuliappear to also possess a side taste in the modality equal tothe suppressed component, with the exception of Q₂SO₄ whichshowed no sweet side taste. The side tastes are negatively relatedto masking, thus the higher a specific side taste, the lowerthe amount of suppression of that taste in the binary mixture.Apparently, the subjects add these side tastes of the maskingagents to the specific quality of the suppressed sensationsin the mixture. In this way spurious results of low maskingor even enhancement are produced. The obtained results werecompared to data from a study in the literature on taste masking.