Sugar and spice: similarities and sensory attributes

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Sensory Science
• Nutrition

Background:

• Dietary guidelines increasingly recommend reducing sugar intake.
• Consumers seek natural flavor alternatives to artificial sweeteners.
• Spices are traditionally used for flavoring but their inherent sweetness properties are less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify spices with inherent sweetness properties.
• To evaluate the compatibility of spice flavors with sweetness.
• To explore spices as a potential strategy for sugar reduction.

Main Methods:

• Seventy healthy adults participated in sensory evaluations of 10 selected spices.
• Participants rated spices on odor intensity, taste (bitterness), and perceived sweetness.
• Similarity judgments and key sensory attributes were collected via questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Vanilla was perceived as most similar to sugar.
• Cinnamon, vanilla, spearmint, and anise showed higher compatibility with sweetness compared to nutmeg, ginger, cloves, bay, and salt.
• Ethnic differences were observed, with non-white subjects perceiving more sweetness in nutmeg and less in anise.

Conclusions:

• Several spices possess intrinsic sweet characteristics.
• These spices can be considered for use as natural sugar substitutes.
• Incorporating these spices may support strategies for reducing overall sugar consumption.