Skip Navigation

Chemical Senses 2004 29(8):713-720; doi:10.1093/chemse/bjh077
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Liem, D. G.
Right arrow Articles by de Graaf, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Liem, D. G.
Right arrow Articles by de Graaf, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Chemical Senses Vol. 29 No. 8 © Oxford University Press 2004; all rights reserved

Sour Taste Preferences of Children Relate to Preference for Novel and Intense Stimuli

Djin Gie Liem, Annemarie Westerbeek, Sascha Wolterink, Frans J. Kok and Cees de Graaf

Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen Taste & Smell Centre, Wageningen University, PO Box 8129, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands

Correspondence to be sent to: Djin Gie Liem, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen Taste & Smell Centre, Wageningen University, PO Box 8129, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands. e-mail: djin-gie.liem{at}wur.nl

Previous research has suggested that some children have a preference for sour tastes. The origin of this preference remains unclear. We investigated whether preference for sour tastes is related to a difference in rated sour intensity due to physiological properties of saliva, or to an overall preference for intense and new stimuli. Eighty-nine children 7–12 years old carried out a rank-order procedure for preference and category scale for perceived intensity for four gelatins (i.e. 0.0 M, 0.02 M, 0.08 M, 0.25 M added citric acid) and four yellow cards that differed in brightness. In addition, we measured their willingness to try a novel candy and their flow and buffering capacity of their saliva. Fifty-eight percent of the children tested preferred one of the two most sour gelatins. These children had a higher preference for the brightest color (P < 0.05) and were more likely to try the candy with the unknown flavor (P < 0.001) than children who did not prefer the most sour gelatins. Preference for sour taste was not related with differences in rated sour intensity, however those who preferred sour taste had a higher salivary flow (P < 0.05). These findings show that a substantial proportion of young children have a preference for extreme sour taste. This appears to be related to the willingness to try unknown foods and preference for intense visual stimuli. Further research is needed to investigate how these findings can be implemented in the promotion of sour-tasting food such as fruit.

Key words: citric acid, color, hedonics, intensity, saliva, sensation seeking


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Chem SensesHome page
J. E. Armstrong, I. Hutchinson, D. G. Laing, and A. L. Jinks
Facial Electromyography: Responses of Children to Odor and Taste Stimuli
Chem Senses, July 1, 2007; 32(6): 611 - 621.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.