Efficacy of Various Palate Cleansers with Representative Foods

Palate cleansers are used to remove residuals and prevent adaptation that may otherwise alter intensity ratings. Foods were categorized into seven types (sweet, bitter, fatty, astringent, hot/spicy, cooling, and non-lingering) and a representative food was selected from each (jelly beans, coffee, smoked sausage, tea, spicy tortilla chip, mint, and applesauce, for each food type, respectively). A variety of documented palate cleansers typically used with each food type were identified (i.e., table water crackers, spring water, pectin solution, whole milk, chocolate, and warm water). Subsequently, all representative foods were assessed with all palate cleansers by 24 panelists. Only table water crackers were effective at preventing significant differences across replicates for all tested foods.