sativum.ai · Sensory analysis
Sensory analysis
Sensory analysis describes how food is perceived. sativum.ai separates it into four dimensions — taste, aroma, physical stimulus and texture — and scores each characteristic from 0 to 10 for every ingredient.
In the sativum.ai database
Sensory analysis of food: taste, aroma, stimulus and texture
Four dimensions, kept separate
Flavour is often described loosely. We keep the dimensions strictly apart so that profiles stay comparable.
- Taste: what the tongue detects — sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami.
- Aroma: what the nose detects — floral, citrus, earthy, smoky and many more.
- Stimulus: physical sensations such as pungent heat, cooling or tingling.
- Texture: mouthfeel such as crunchy, creamy or fibrous.
How intensity is measured
Each characteristic has an intensity from 0 to 10. The intensity level of a dimension is the average of its characteristics, while the overall sensory intensity adds up all characteristics and compares the total with the most intense ingredient in the database.
Flavor wheel and sensory maps
The interactive flavor wheel organises aromas into families you can zoom into. Every ingredient also has its own sensory map showing its profile across all four dimensions, and the limbic map links flavours to emotional responses.
Frequently asked questions
- Is heat a taste?
- No. Chili heat is a physical stimulus triggered by compounds like capsaicin, so we list it under stimulus, not taste.
- What is a flavor wheel?
- A circular chart grouping aromas from broad families in the centre to specific notes at the edge, used to describe and compare flavours.