Take a trip to the local market this summer and you’ll find an abundance of colourful fruits and vegetables. With June being National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, we thought it would be fitting to explore fruit preferences with our sensory product testing team when it comes to berries, tropical fruits, citrus fruits and of…
The Rise of the Gourmet Hamburger
Over the top burgers, special sauces and customized creations -the surge of gourmet burger chains continues to grow with new establishments popping up all over North America. Do you believe that the topping makes the burger? Last year, we asked the Contract Testing community about their sensory product testing burger topping preferences and our survey…
Which Pizza Topping Is King?
Pizza is one of the most beloved meals around the world. In fact, pizzerias comprise almost eight percent of all United States restaurants. Manufacturers’ sales of pizza has reached almost $40 billion each year. Americans eat about 100 acres of pizza each day, or about a staggering 350 slices per second! For a certainty, there…
Understanding the Basic Flavors of Wine
Before you can start sensory testing which flavor of wine is the most popular, you have to know a little bit about the basic flavors of wine. Wine gurus typically know these things like the back of their hand. A typical test of wine flavor usually involves certain basic characteristics of flavor. The five basic…
Sights, Scents and Tastes Come Together at Easter
Easter is a national holiday and a special time for Christian families around the world. It’s a colourful, flavourful holiday full of egg hunts, chocolate bunnies and delicious feasts. While traditions of Easter are celebrated in many different ways around the world, the historic reasons we recognize the holiday remains the same across the board.…
Making Use of Existing Knowledge
“Knowledge is power.” – Francis Bacon. This is what sensory analysis is all about. Regardless of the product, understanding what people really think about your products is invaluable. For example let’s discuss potato chips. You’ll find potato chips in virtually every place where food is sold. Let’s say you’re trying to determine which potato chips…
Eating Healthy In The New Year?
The value of sensory analysis really comes to the forefront when it comes to healthy eating. Now that the New Year’s resolutions are passed and we are a few months into the New Year, let’s consider one of the most popular health food products out there, kale. The number of Americans consuming kale is six…
St. Patrick's Day
Every year, on March 17th, folks gather in green to drink pints of green beer in celebration of St. Patrick. We wondered: Why green beer? And who is St. Patrick? What are some typical St. Patrick’s Day food traditions? St. Patrick’s Day is thought to be more popular in North America than in the country…