Sensory Characterization of Commercial Dulce De Leche with Consumers and Trained Assessors

The objective of this study was to characterize commercial dulce de leche samples by Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) and affective tests and instrumental color and texture measurements. Thirteen sensory descriptors were assessed as follows: color, brightness, hardness, spreadability, cooked milk aroma, dulce de leche aroma, caramel aroma, sweet taste, milk flavor, dulce de leche flavor, caramel flavor; adhesiveness and firmness. Sample A differed from the other samples for the attributes milk flavor, dulce de leche flavor, caramel flavor, cooked milk aroma, dulce de leche aroma and caramel aroma (p≤0.05), which contributed to the depreciation of the product's quality. In contrast, the samples E and F were the most accepted (p≤0.05) for overall impression and showed greater purchase intention by consumers. Both samples were characterized by the attributes dulce de leche aroma and dulce de leche flavor, which is considered the most important acceptance attributes for this product. In addition, sample E and F presented ideal creaminess and sweetness, respectively. These attributes were less pronounced in sample A, which presented less acceptance and purchase intention among all samples. The results for color and texture of the samples A and B followed the same trend as those obtained in the QDA, while the other samples exhibited opposite behavior. Thus, it is worth emphasizing the importance of the sensory evaluation, which cannot be replaced by instrumental analyses.