How can sweeteners and aromas be used in combination?

Did you have a drink today?
Yes, although there is a beverage store every few steps on the street, these sugary drinks are really health killers. Obesity, metabolic syndrome, the three highs (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol) and other diseases, are all related to sugar! Now, the beverage “low sugar”, “sugar-free” is no longer dispensable marketing gimmick, is no longer a business to provide consumers with alternative options, but has become the global beverage industry irreversible trend.
“Sugar reduction” is not simply a matter of putting in less sugar, but also of reducing sugar without reducing sweetness, which is the key to the technology, and the article published by Anne S. Bertelsen et al. in Food Quality and Preference (IF=4.842, Zone 1) may have given new ideas.
Cross-modal effects of vanilla aroma on sweetness of different sweeteners among Chinese and Danish consumersFood Quality and Preference, Region 1
Background
Excessive intake of sugar and sugary beverages contributes to the epidemic of obesity and related diseases. Non-nutritive sweeteners have long been used by the food and beverage industry to reduce sugar, but often contain off-flavors. Aromas have been shown to be potential sweetness enhancers, but enhancing sweetness through aroma will only result in a small reduction of sugar in the product. Therefore, combining both strategies may be the best option for reducing sugar content in foods and beverages.
In addition, the use of aroma to increase sweetness may also depend on culture. Therefore, the aim of this article was to investigate how different sweeteners and nationalities affect the cross-modal effect of vanilla aroma on sweetness intensity by selecting three groups of sweeteners: sucrose, sucrose + D-tagatose and D-tagatose + glycoside stevioside (with a sweetness level equal to 2.5% w/w sucrose) as well as two nationalities: chinese and danish.
Study content
I. Descriptive analyses were carried out in the sensory laboratory of the Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Denmark, by a trained sensory panel consisting of seven women and one man (26-60 years old). The panel evaluated all samples in the order of vanilla aroma (prenasal sniff), sweetness, vanilla flavor (postnasal sniff), licorice flavor, dry mouthfeel, and licorice aftertaste (three groups of sweeteners were tested in pure, natural mineral water with or without vanilla flavor), and the intensity of each attribute was assessed on a 15-cm linear scale (low = 1.5, high = 13.5).
Second, consumer studies were conducted at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, China and Aarhus University, Denmark. Consumers were recruited among employees and students, including 159 Chinese consumers (18-30 years old, of which 108 were female) and 161 Danish consumers (20-30 years old, of which 85 were female).
Each consumer provided six samples (three sets of sweeteners tested in all-natural mineral water with or without vanilla flavoring) and one mouthwash, and each sample was rated for sweet aroma intensity, sweetness intensity, acceptance of sweetness, and overall preference. Intensity attributes and overall preference were measured on a 9-point scale.
Results of the study
The results in Table 1 indicate that the addition of vanilla flavor significantly increased the intensity of vanilla aroma and vanilla flavor. There were no significant differences in sweetness intensity between sweeteners with or without the addition of vanilla aroma, while the type of sweetener affected the licorice flavor and aftertaste, as well as the dry mouthfeel. Interestingly, it was found that there was a significant interaction between sweetener and vanilla aroma that affected the ratings of sweetness intensity (Table 1 and Figure 1).
Vanilla aroma significantly increased sweetness intensity ratings for sucrose and sucrose + D-tagose, but not for D-tagose + A glycoside stevia. Sweeteners also had a significant effect on the overall preference of the samples, with consumers in different countries disliking samples containing D-tagatose + A-glycoside stevia more than both sucrose and sucrose + D-tagatose, and preference for sweeteners was not related to the addition of aroma.
Table 1 Mean ± standard deviation and p-values for each design factor and attribute in the descriptive analysis. s = Sucrose, ST = Sucrose + D-Tagose, TR = D-Tagose + A Glycoside Stevia, SV = Sucrose + Vanilla Aroma, STV = Sucrose + D-Tagose + Vanilla Aroma, TRV = D-Tagose + A Glycoside Stevia + Vanilla Aroma.

Figure 1 A) Sweetness intensity scores across sweeteners and aromas B) Overall preference scores across sweeteners
Nationality and gender significantly influenced the overall cross-modal effect of vanilla aroma on sweetness intensity, with Danish consumers having a higher overall cross-modal effect than Chinese consumers, and women having a slightly higher overall cross-modal effect than men.
Significant interactions between nationality and aroma affected the degree of sweet aroma, sweetness intensity, and overall liking of the samples. For samples without added aroma, nationality had no effect on ratings of sweet aroma and sweetness intensity.
Sweet aroma increased when aroma was added, and interestingly, Danish consumers rated the intensity of sweet aroma with vanilla added to the samples significantly higher than Chinese consumers; consumers from both countries perceived the addition of aroma as having higher sweetness intensity, while Danish consumers rated sweetness intensity higher than Chinese consumers.
Chinese consumers typically rated their preference for samples near the neutral point of the scale, independent of whether or not vanilla flavoring was added to the samples, whereas Danish consumers rated their preference for samples significantly lower than Chinese consumers and rated samples with added vanilla aroma lower.

Fig. 2 Consumers of different nationalities’ ratings of sweetness aroma intensity (A) in the presence/absence of aroma. Sweet aroma intensity (B) and overall preference ratings
Study Conclusion.
Vanilla aroma had a stronger cross-modal effect on the sweetness of sucrose and sucrose + D-tagatose than D-tagatose + A glycoside stevia, thus D-tagatose appears to be a potential sweetener that could be used in combination with the cross-modal effect of vanilla aroma to aid in sugar reduction.
In addition, Danish consumers showed a greater increase in sweetness intensity compared to Chinese consumers, which may be due to different associative learning resulting from different eating habits between the two countries. Importantly, approximately half of the consumers perceived a cross-modal effect of vanilla aroma on sweetness intensity without a decrease in acceptability. Therefore, using vanilla aroma to reduce sugar consumption is feasible for most consumers.
Sugar reduction is never a process that can be accomplished overnight. Even though consumers nowadays have gradually realized that too much sugar can damage their bodily functions, there are still many people who find it difficult to resist the temptation of high-sugar foods. How to provide consumers with low-sugar and sugar-free products without sacrificing flavor? remains a pressing issue for the food and beverage industry. “Make nutrition more delicious, make delicious more nutritious”, this is our ultimate goal. References Bertelsen A S , Zeng Y , Mielby L A , et al. Cross-modal Effect of Vanilla Aroma on Sweetness of Different Sweeteners among Chinese and Danish Consumers [ J]. Food Quality and Preference, 2020, 87:104036.