Influence of consumer demographics on textural perception and hedonic liking of cooked rice: insights from a...

This study examined how age, gender, and consumption frequency influence texture perception and overall acceptability of cooked rice, using a large consumer panel (N = 692) across four replicated trials. Age significantly influenced ratings for hardness, chewiness, and especially overall liking, with older adults (70-79 years) giving higher scores and showing less variability. In contrast, younger participants (20-49 years) exhibited greater perception sensitivity and more diverse acceptability. Gender had a significant impact on ratings for hardness, stickiness, chewiness and overall liking, with males consistently giving higher ratings. Consumption frequency affected perceived hardness but had no effect on other texture attributes or overall acceptability, suggesting long-term consumption patterns may overshadow short-term variations in habituated consumers. Both frequentist and Bayesian regression analyses identified chewiness as the strongest predictor of overall liking, whereas the impacts of hardness and stickiness varied by demographic group.