2025/09/21 by Gunalan Dhamodharan, James Makame, Alissa A. Nolden · 1 citation
paper · doi:10.1111/jtxs.70042
crossref issued 2025/09/21 · crossref published 2025/09/21 · crossref published-online 2025/09/21 · crossref created 2025/09/22 · crossref published-print 2025/10/01 · crossref deposited 2025/12/03 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30
ABSTRACT The addition of thickeners to beverages remains the primary strategy for managing dysphagia. However, thickened beverages have poor compliance among patients, primarily due to a dislike of the taste and flavor. While thickeners produce a higher viscosity, which helps reduce the risk of aspiration, there is evidence that they also reduce taste sensations. Previous research suggests that rheological properties might explain the impact on taste perception; however, recent findings do not demonstrate this interaction. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact of Nestle ThickenUp Clear on the taste intensity of sucrose (sweet), citric acid (sour), and NaCl (salty) when mixed at three concentrations compared to an unthickened control. The samples were analyzed for rheological properties (including viscosity and tan delta). A total of 56 untrained healthy participants completed the Temporal Check All That Apply (TCATA) and rated taste intensity and liking. This study presented significant findings on physical textural properties and sensory aspects; most importantly, Linear Mixed Models (LMM) revealed that saltiness ( β = −4.16), sourness ( β = −3.29), and sweetness ( β = −3.43) all decreased significantly with the addition of thickener ( p R 2 than conditional R 2 ). These findings emphasize that unique interactions between tastants and thickeners drive taste perception, rather than being solely determined by physical rheological measures (such as viscosity and viscoelasticity). Future studies can extend these findings to other thickeners and more complex beverages, which will aid in identifying effective strategies to improve the taste and flavor profiles of thickened beverages.