Relative Taste Contributions in Sweet-Sour-Salty Mixtures Are Influenced by Concentration and Taste Interactions: Taste Perception in Complex Taste Mixtures

Interactions among the basic tastes shape taste perception, yet the relative contributions of individual tastes within mixtures remain unclear. This study examined how varying concentrations of sweetness, sourness, and saltiness influence perceived intensity, pleasantness, and each taste’s relative contribution to mixture perception. To assess these relationships, participants rated solutions using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and a novel method, the Taste Triangle.
Participants (N = 25) completed two experimental sessions. In the first session, sensitivity to sweetness, sourness, and saltiness was assessed. In the second session, participants received individualized taste solutions containing one, two, or all three tastants.
For overall intensity (VAS ratings), increasing individual taste concentrations generally increased perceived intensity. However, when two tastes were present at high concentrations, these increases became less pronounced, indicating perceived intensity compression in complex mixtures. For relative taste contribution (Taste Triangle ratings), increasing the concentration of a taste shifted mixture perception toward that taste and reduced the contribution of the other tastes. Furthermore, the influence of sweetness and sourness on mixture perception depended on the saltiness concentration, suggesting that saltiness modulated the contribution of the other tastes. Notably, adding a low level of sweetness altered the perceived composition of mixtures, whereas adding a low level of sourness or saltiness had little effect.
Overall, these findings demonstrate that overall intensity and relative taste contribution capture distinct aspects of taste perception in complex mixtures. Together, VAS ratings and the Taste Triangle revealed how concentration influences perceived intensity and how tastant interactions shape the relative taste contributions, even at low concentrations.