SENSORY EVALUATION: TYPES OF SENSORY TESTS
Diagram
Liking or measuring
Hedonic tests
Ask whether people like the food. Untrained buyers taste it and say how much they like it, often on a 9 point scale.
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Analytical tests
Ask what the food is like. Trained panellists measure its attributes, such as sweetness, crunch or colour, one by one.
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The central dogma
Lawless and Heymann call this split the central dogma: analytic versus hedonic tests (p. 13).
Figure 1: Hedonic tests ask about liking; analytical tests ask about measurement. Drawn in our own style from The Central Dogma: Analytic vs Hedonic Tests (p. 13) of Lawless and Heymann, Sensory Evaluation of Food.
Introduction
Hedonic tests and analytical tests are the two families of sensory tests, and they ask opposite questions. Hedonic tests ask whether people like a food, while analytical tests ask trained panellists to measure specific attributes of it. Lawless and Heymann call this split the central dogma of sensory evaluation: analytic versus hedonic tests (p. 13).
The core difference is the question: hedonic tests measure liking, and analytical tests measure the food itself.
Quick comparison
Table 1: Hedonic tests compared with Analytical tests
| Aspect | Hedonic tests | Analytical tests |
|---|---|---|
| Question asked | Do people like this food | What is this food like, and how much of each attribute does it have |
| Who tastes | Untrained buyers and consumers | Trained panellists |
| How many tasters | Many, often 50 or more | Few, a small trained panel |
| What is measured | Liking and preference | Intensity of specific attributes, such as sweetness, crunch or colour |
| Scale used | Often a 9 point hedonic scale, from dislike extremely to like extremely | Intensity scales for each attribute, with a shared vocabulary |
| Training needed | None: the panellist only needs to say what they like | Long training: the panel learns the vocabulary and the scales |
| Result | Which product is liked most, and by how much | A profile of the product: how sweet, how crunchy, how strong |
| Use | Choosing between products, and judging whether buyers will accept a new product | Describing products, finding faults, and guiding recipe changes |
| Repeatability | Varies, because liking is personal | High, because the trained panel measures the same way each time |
| Cost and time | Costly in numbers, but each test is quick | Costly in training, but a small panel can test many products |
Scientific explanation
Definition
Hedonic tests, also called affective tests, ask how much a food is liked. Untrained consumers taste the food and rate their liking, often on a 9 point hedonic scale. Analytical tests ask trained panellists to measure specific attributes of a food, such as sweetness, acidity, crunch or colour, and to rate the intensity of each.
Lawless and Heymann set the two against each other in The Central Dogma: Analytic vs Hedonic Tests (p. 13): analytic tests measure the product, and hedonic tests measure the response to the product.
Working principle
Hedonic tests work because liking is the thing that decides whether a buyer will buy again: the test measures the response of real buyers, not the food. Because liking is personal, many consumers are needed, and the result is an average liking score for each product.
Analytical tests work because a trained panel can act like an instrument: the panellists learn a shared vocabulary, agree on what each word means, and rate each attribute on a scale. The result is a profile of the product that can be repeated by the same panel on another day.
Apparatus
Hedonic tests need a test room or a central location, coded samples, and a ballot with the liking scale. Analytical tests need a sensory test room with separate booths, coded samples, reference standards for each attribute, and ballots with intensity scales. Both need water and plain crackers to cleanse the palate.
Measurement procedure
For a hedonic test, consumers are served coded samples in a balanced order, taste them, and mark how much they like each one on the scale. For an analytical test, trained panellists are served coded samples, taste them, and rate the intensity of each attribute on its scale, using the panel’s shared vocabulary.
There is no single standard measurement procedure for this comparison in the books used here: the two families use different panels, different scales and different questions.
Factors affecting readings
For hedonic tests, the consumers matter most: their age, habits and tastes change the liking scores, so the group must match the buyers the product is made for. For analytical tests, the training matters most: a well trained panel gives steady results, and a poorly trained panel does not. Fatigue and carryover matter for both, so samples are small and served in balanced order.
Formulas and calculations
The books used for this article give no formula for this comparison, so none is given here. The comparison is qualitative: it rests on definitions, materials and method, not on a calculation.
Industrial applications
- Hedonic tests are used to choose between recipes before a product is launched.
- Hedonic tests are used to check whether buyers will accept a new product or a changed recipe.
- Analytical tests are used to describe a product in detail, so recipe changes can be aimed at the right attribute.
- Analytical tests are used in quality control, to find faults such as staleness or off flavours.
- Both are used together: analytical tests show what changed, and hedonic tests show whether buyers care.
Advantages and limitations
- Hedonic tests, advantage: they measure what matters to the buyer, which is liking, and they need no training.
- Hedonic tests, limitation: they cannot say what is wrong with a product, only that it is liked less.
- Analytical tests, advantage: they measure the product itself, so they can show exactly what changed and guide the fix.
- Analytical tests, limitation: they need a trained panel, which takes time and money to build, and they cannot say whether buyers will like the product.
FAQ
Can a trained panel tell me if buyers will like a product?
No: a trained panel measures attributes, not liking. Liking is measured with consumers in hedonic tests. A product can score high on an attribute and still be disliked.
Why do hedonic tests need so many people?
Because liking is personal and varies from person to person. Many consumers are needed before the average liking score is steady enough to trust.
What is the 9 point hedonic scale?
A scale from dislike extremely to like extremely, in nine steps, with neither like nor dislike in the middle. It is the common scale for liking tests.
Can the same person do both kinds of test?
Not in the same test: a trained panellist is trained to measure, not to say what they like, and a consumer is asked only for liking. Mixing the two roles spoils both.
Which test comes first in product development?
Analytical tests usually come first, to shape the product and fix faults, and hedonic tests come later, to check whether buyers like the result.
