Table 2.

List of attributes, definitions, and reference frame used by a 12-member panel for Bagnolese pecorino cheese sensory profiling.

Descriptor	Definition	Reference Samples
		Lower Anchor	Upper Anchor
Odor
Barn	Odor arising from a sheep barn	60 g ricotta cheese	60 g ricotta cheese + 60 g grated pecorino cheese
Hay	Odor arising from hay	200 mL water	5 g hay in 200 mL water
Flavor
Pecorino	Typical flavor of pecorino cheese	cacioricotta cheese	Bagnolese pecorino cheese
Barn	Flavor arising from a sheep barn	60 g ricotta cheese	60 g ricotta cheese + 60 g grated pecorino cheese
Taste
Sweet	Taste elicited by sucrose	8 mL stock solution 100 mL−1	20 mL stock solution 100 mL−1
Salty	Taste elicited by sodium chloride	1.5 mL stock solution 100 mL−1	3 mL stock solution 100 mL−1
Acid	Taste elicited by citric acid	8 mL stock solution 101	16 mL stock solution 100 mL−1
Bitter	Taste elicited by quinine	4 mL stock solution 100 mL−1	8 mL stock solution 100 mL−1
Spicy	Taste associated with an irritating or aggressive sensation perceived in the mouth or in the throat	10 g ricotta cheese	10 g ricotta cheese + 0.2 g hot pepper in powder
Texture
Hardness	Highest force required to chew cheese samples	20 g mozzarella cheese	20 g Pecorino cheese ripened 12 months
Friability	Increasing perception of cheese fragments during mastication	20 g Emmental cheese	20 g parmesan cheese ripened 36 months
Grainess	Perception of course particles in the mouth	20 g Fontina cheese	20 g parmesan cheese ripened 36 months
Solubility	Perception of cheese melting in the mouth	20 g Fontina cheese	20 g mini cheese spread
Adhesivity	Effort needed to remove the layer of cheese coating the mouth	20 g mozzarella cheese	20 g Taleggio cheese