Effect of heat on the sensory quality of jaew sauce

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in sensory qualities of jaew sauce as heat is applied and to determine its acceptance level among Thai and foreign consumers. Design/methodology/approach - Jaew sauce was heated for six hours and samples were collected at 1.5 hours interval. The color of jaew sauce was measured using color spectrophotometer and consumers examined the underlying sensory qualities of jaew sauce using sorting technique. A total of 40 Thai and foreign consumers were asked to sort the commercial and the heated jaew sauce samples according to the similarities and dissimilarities in sensory characteristics and provide descriptions for explanation of each group. A consumer test with 100 Thai and foreign consumers was also conducted to determine the acceptance of jaew sauce. Findings - Alterations in the sensory qualities, mainly color, were observed. Prolong heating resulted in darker color. The sorting results showed that Thai and foreign consumers have similar perception of jaew sauce. Similar groupings of jaew sauce was observed, which could be divided into four groups, commercial, 0 hour heating, 1.5 and 3 hours heating, and 4.5 and 6 hours heating. Agreeing results of both Thai and foreign consumers showed that commercial and 0 hour heating samples were most preferred and the acceptance of jaew sauce decreased as it was heated. Originality/value - Despite the extensive usage of jaew, very few are available commercially in the market. The fact that Thai and foreign consumers have similar preference infer that jaew sauce has a high potential to be adopted and accepted among foreigners to a large extent if available commercially. This study also provides a basis into further research on an appropriate packaging and shelf-life study of jaew sauce for commercial purposes.