Serving Size and Gender Effects on Product (Lemonade) Acceptance and Just-Right Attribute Ratings

Authors: ZEHRA AYHAN, CHEN-TA LI, MATRID K. NDIFE, Q. HOWARD ZHANG

Abstract: The serving size and gender effects on product acceptance and ideal attribute (lemonade flavor, sourness and sweetness) ratings of lemonade were investigated using a 15-point hedonic scale and a 5-point just-right scale, respectively. Females (67) and males (68) consumed a 4 oz (118 ml) sample ad libitum, or a full 8 oz (236 ml) serving. Ad libitum male consumption was not different (p>0.05) from female consumption. A low correlation (R^2=0.011) was observed between the amount of lemonade consumed and product acceptability or just-right attribute ratings. Neither serving size nor gender had an effect on the overall acceptability (p>0.05). However, the interaction of gender and serving size affected the overall acceptability (p<0.05) and sweetness (p<0.10). Male acceptability scores were lower (p<0.05) than female scores under ad libitum conditions. Male acceptability scores increased (p<0.05) with increased sample size. There was no significant difference observed for lemonade flavor, sourness or sweetness just-right ideal scores as the sample size increased (p>0.05). A higher proportion of males rated the sweetness just-about-right as compared to females (p<0.05). This study showed that consumption of a standard serving size did not result in sensory specific satiety, but several interesting gender effects were found.

Keywords: product attributes, product acceptability, serving size and gender

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