Abstract

This study was examined the preferred temperature and salinity of soup in various demographic groups in order to establish the desirable serving renditions of soup for customers' satisfaction and health. Temperature and salinity were measured in August and November in order to determine the seasonal variation in preference using a digital salinity-temperature measuring device. Four demographic groups totaling 530 were from foodservice establishments in elementary schools(ES: male 68/female 59), middle-high schools(MHS: 62/69), universities(UNIV: 72/67) and companies(COM: 69/64) in Seoul. Various thin or thick soups which are typically served in foodservice establishments were served hot(below $90^{\circ}C$) and warm(below $40^{\circ}C$) in a 50mL portion: salty(1.2%) and less salty(0.4%) at $55{\pm}2^{\circ}C$. The preferred salinities and temperatures of the soups were found to be 0.74%, 0.82%, 0.64% and 0.67% and $49.65^{\circ}C$, $54.24^{\circ}C$, $57.56^{\circ}C$, $58.81^{\circ}C$ for the ES, MHS, UNIV and COM groups, respectively. The preferred temperatures of the soups were increased depending on the age, so the positive correlation was shown between temperature and age. However the preferred salinities of soups were not effected. There was no consistent tendency between men and women in temperature. For salinity, men preferred $0.04{\sim}0.12%$ higher than women in the ES, MHS and UNIV groups. There is no consistent tendency between thin and thick soup in temperature. All groups preferred higher salinity in the thick soup than in the thin soup. Most of the customers preferred a higher temperature and higher salinity in November than in August.

Keywords

• Preference;
• temperature;
• salinity;
• soup;
• institutional foodservice establishment