Responses to extra virgin olive oils in consumers with varying commitment to oils Annamaria Recchia a,⇑ , Erminio Monteleone a , Hely Tuorila b a Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Agrarie, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy b Department of Food and Environment Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland article info Article history: Received 15 November 2010 Received in revised form 23 September 2011 Accepted 22 October 2011 Available online 4 November 2011 Keywords: Extra virgin olive oil Involvement Pairing effect Liking Colour Expectation Categorisation abstract The present study investigated the impact of consumer commitment to extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on liking and product categorisation. Seventy-four Finnish subjects with a background in culinary prepara- tion and in food science were divided into three clusters, based on involvement with and subjective knowledge of olive oil, and knowledge of the sensory descriptors appropriate for EVOOs. They were pre- sented with four Italian or Italian branded EVOOs (two excellent, two regular quality) as such and paired with salad. Subjects rated their overall liking and the extent to which each product met their expectation regarding the appearance and overall sensory properties. Sensory profiles of the target oils were defined in a separate trained panel. On average, the subjects disliked the deep green colour of one of the excellent oils. When presented with salad, liking for the colour of this oil increased in all clusters, but the overall liking of all oils remained unaffected. One of the two regular quality oils was best liked by the subjects. Its overall sensory properties highly matched the expectations of EVOO. Similarly to other groups, the most committed cluster also considered the least bitter and pungent regular oil as the most ‘typical’ EVOO, and failed to accept the oils with excellent quality. In conclusion, commitment to or involvement with a prod- uct category does not guarantee the appreciation of a high quality product. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Mediterranean area accounts for 95% of world production and 85% of world consumption of olive oil (IOOC, 2007). Within vegeta- ble oils, olive oil accounts for barely 3% of world consumption, compared with 31% for soybean, 28% for palm, 13% for rapeseed, and 9% for sunflower oil (United States Department of Agriculture, 2004). However, the consumption has increased 228% during the past 20 years (IOOC, 2008). The high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids and phenolic compounds are considered to be health benefits of olive oil (Beauchamp et al., 2005; Tripoli et al., 2004). Phenolic compounds are responsible for the sensory characteristics bitterness and pun- gency (Andrewes, Bush, Joode, Groenewegen, & Alexandre, 2003; Bertuccioli, 1994; Caporale, Policastro, Carlucci, & Monteleone, 2006; Servili & Montedoro, 2002). Odour and flavour (green olive, ripe olive, grassy, almond, artichoke, tomato leaf, apple, and citrus), taste (bitterness), tactile (astringency, thickness, and viscosity), and chemesthetic (pun- gency, peppery) attributes define olive oil (Caporale et al., 2006; Mojet & de Jong, 1994). ‘‘Green’’ aroma is positively related to product acceptability (Bertuccioli, 1994; Lyon & Watson, 1994; McEwan, 1994; Pagliarini, Bertuccioli, & Abbà, 1994), although the green odour note (cut grass) may enhance the bitterness per- ception (Caporale, Policastro, & Monteleone, 2004). Fruity, nutty, and tea-like flavours positively drive liking (Delgado & Guinard, 2011). The more bitter the taste of the oils was, the less Italian and Spanish consumers liked them (Bertuccioli, 1994; Caporale et al., 2004; Garcıa, Yousfi, Mateos, Olmo, & Cert, 2001). Bitterness and pungency appeared as negative drivers of liking also by Californian consumers (Delgado & Guinard, 2011). Nevertheless, Australian olive oil producers considered these two attributes as major determinants of olive oil style (Gawel & Rogers, 2009) and Italian consumers perceived pungency and bitterness to be the most appropriate sensory descriptors of the extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) (Caporale et al., 2006). Responses to olive oil attributes may be affected by different levels of involvement with the product. Wilkie (1986) defines con- sumer involvement as ‘‘a state of energy (arousal) that a person experiences in regard to a consumption-related activity’’. Involve- ment is related to how relevant consumers perceive a product within their personal needs, values, interests, ego and motivation for a given situation (Bell & Marshall, 2003; Marshall & Bell, 2004). Low vs. high involvement may explain the degree of effort a consumer is willing to devote to consumption-related activities (Laaksonen, 1999; Zaichkowsky, 1985). High involvement may lead to making an active effort to find product information, making detailed comparison of product attributes, and perception of differences between brands (Zaichkowsky, 1985). For the product category of wine, for example, product involvement has been 0950-3293/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2011.10.009 ⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Agrarie, Via Donizetti 6, Firenze 50144, Italy. Tel.: +39 0553220334; fax: +39 055355995. E-mail address: annamaria.recchia@unifi.it (A. Recchia). Food Quality and Preference 24 (2012) 153–161 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Quality and Preference journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodqual