The present study explored the possibility of generating a novel sensory evaluation instrument for describing comprehensive food palatability via its subdomains (rewarding, cultural, and informational) while keeping physiological factors constant. Seventy-five Japanese participants were asked to taste cheese samples and to respond to a questionnaire that was developed to dissect the distinct subdomains of palatability. The subsequent factor analyses revealed that three major factors may serve as distinct subdomains of palatability: rewarding, cultural, and informational, although the informational factor was not sufficiently robust. Multivariate regression analysis on cheese samples with exactly the same ingredients but sold in different packages led to different comprehensive palatability ratings due to the contribution of the cultural, but not the rewarding, factor. These results suggest that palatability is not merely determined by the physical and chemical properties that are intrinsic to a food product itself, but also depends on psychological properties that can arise through interaction between humans and the food product. The current study presents the first experimental demonstration that palatability could be dissociated to its subdomains.
Keywords: Culture; information; liking; preference; reward; sensory evaluation.