Predicting optimum monosodium glutamate and sodium chloride concentrations in chicken broth as affected by spice addition

Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to determine the effects of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and sodium chloride (NaCl) concentrations on the hedonic score of nonspiced and spiced chicken broth. Sensory analysis indicated that both MSG and NaCl concentrations affected (P 0.005) the hedonic score of the chicken broth. Estimated by the second order polynomial equation, the maximum hedonic score of nonspiced broth was 7.28 on a 9-point hedonic scale with the combination of 0.33% MSG and 0.83% NaCl. In the presence of spice, the maximum hedonic score increased to 7.81 with the estimated levels of 0.38% MSG and 0.87% NaCl. The increase in the hedonic score of spiced chicken broth might indicate the contribution of spice to the palatability. The increase in levels of MSG and NaCl for the maximum hedonic score of spiced chicken broth was probably due to a masking effect of spices on the taste response of MSG and NaCl