JAR-Deviation Burden, Home–Laboratory Differences, and Purchase Intent in Consumer Evaluations of Commercial Cooked Hams

Abstract

Home-use tests capture realistic consumer experience, but self-selected and non-blind conditions may differ from blind laboratory evaluations. This study reanalyzed a public consumer dataset on commercial cooked hams, focusing on Just-About-Right (JAR) scales and purchase-related variables that were not the focus of the original Free-Comment study. Home-use data included 2758 evaluations by 483 French consumers, and blind laboratory data included 1376 evaluations of 16 overlapping products by 86 consumers. JAR deviations were defined for color, fat, salt, and tenderness. Home-use liking was higher than blind laboratory liking, but product-level gaps varied. Larger home–laboratory liking gaps were associated with larger differences in JAR-deviation burden. In mixed models, adding JAR-deviation count reduced the laboratory effect on liking, whereas the location-by-JAR interaction was not significant. Purchase intent was associated with liking, price, usual purchase, and JAR-deviation burden.