040: Sensory Attributes That Drive Liking of Colby Jack Snack Cheese

Introduction

The global cheese snack market was estimated at $77 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow. Colby Jack snack cheese is a popular American cheese, with current products that present various sensory characteristics. This study investigated drivers of like and dislike in Colby Jack snack cheeses.

Methods

Duplicate lots of commercial Colby Jack snack cheeses (n=10, 7 sticks, 3 snack cuts) were evaluated in duplicate by a highly trained sensory panel using an established lexicon. Colby Jack cheese consumers (n=174) evaluated the 10 cheeses in a 2-day consumer acceptance test with a partial presentation across 2 days. Multiple statistical analyses were conducted. Preference maps were generated using overall liking scores to demonstrate drivers of liking for the overall population and consumer clusters.

Results

Colby Jack snack cheeses differed in color, texture attributes, and milky, whey, milk fat, diacetyl, sulfur, and brothy flavors, as well as sour and salty tastes. Overall liking of Colby Jack snack cheese was mainly affected by color and flavor. Drivers of like for all consumers (n=174) were an intense orange color with a high aroma intensity and whey flavor, sweet taste with high fracturability and springiness. Two consumer clusters were identified. Cluster 1 (n=134) were general consumers who preferred the same attributes as the general population while cluster 2 (n=40) consumers had more distinct preferences and preferred firm cheese. Cluster 2 consumers also disliked high umami taste and a cheese with a more aged texture: high smoothness of mass and cohesiveness were disliked. These results suggest that consumers prefer the flavor and texture of fresh mild Colby jack cheese, and they can differentiate when Colby jack snack cheeses are more aged (softer, more breakdown, decreased fresh milky flavor) and these attributes are not preferred. Excessive sour taste was also a driver of dislike by penalty lift analysis.

Significance

Commercial Colby Jack snack cheeses have various sensory characteristics. This study demonstrated the drivers of like for Colby Jack snack cheeses and provides insights on consumer preferences to guide further product development.

Authors: Y. Liu, M. Shriner, M.A. Drake