Table 2.

Sensory attributes, techniques, and definitions used to evaluate thickened liquids

Attributea	Technique	Definition
Strawberryb	With nose blocked, place product in mouth, swirl for 5 seconds, release nose, measure the intensity of strawberry flavor coming through nose	The flavor associated with strawberry flavored cough syrup
Bitternessb	Place product in mouth, swirl for 5 seconds, measure the intensity of bitterness	The taste factor associated with bitter almond
Chalkinessb	Spit out sample from mouth, evaluate residue for sensation of chalkiness, which may present as a mouth drying effect	The degree to which the mouth surfaces feel chalky following expectoration of sample
Sweetnessb,c	Place product in mouth, swirl for 5 seconds, measure the intensity of sweetness	The taste factor associated with a sorbitol solution
Adhesivenessb,c	Place product in mouth, compress between tongue and palate, measure the amount of product that adheres to oral surfaces	The residual product that leaves a sticky feeling in the mouth, which is difficult to remove
Slipperinessb,c	Place product in mouth, rub the tongue against the palate, measure the force required to move tongue across palate	The amount in which the product elicits a slippery sensation when rubbing the tongue against the palate
Perceived Viscosityb,c	Place 1 tsp of product close to lips, slurp gently to measure the flow of liquid, measure the force required; once product is in mouth, allow to flow across tongue, measure the rate of flow	The force required to draw between lips and spoon and the rate of flow across tongue
Ease of manipulationb,c	Place product in mouth, move slowly to back of mouth, measure the effort required	The effort required to move the liquid from the front of the mouth to the back of the throat
Lemonc	With nose blocked, place product in mouth, swirl for 5 seconds, release nose, measure the intensity of lemon flavor coming through nose	The flavor associated with fresh lemon
Sournessc	With nose blocked, place product in mouth, swirl for 5 seconds, measure the intensity of sourness	The taste factor associated with a citric acid solution
Graininessc	Place product in mouth, move tongue parallel to palate, measure the concentration of small granules in sample	The concentration of small granules detected in the mouth and on the tongue
Ease of swallowingc	When product is at back of mouth, swallow slowly, measure the force required to pass the liquid completely from the mouth down the throat	The effort required for the throat muscles to swallow

^aAttributes evaluated on a 15 cm line scale, 0 represents the absence of an attribute while 15 represents a strong presence of that attribute.

^bAttributes evaluated during the trained panel with added barium sulfate

^cAttributes evaluated during the trained panel without added barium sulfate