Whole grains and ancient wheats: Knowledge, attitudes, consumption behavior and sensory liking of breads among participants in the United States

Consumer interest in ancient grains has been growing in the United States over the last 10 years. Whole grain ancient wheats incorporation into breads may be a way to increase whole grain consumption among Americans, but there is no research evaluating sensory liking of whole ancient wheat breads among American consumers. The objective of this study was to explore the sensory liking of whole ancient wheat bread types and to explore factors that may be associated with sensory preferences. The study recruited 104 untrained participants of diverse ethnicities affiliated with San José State University (San José, CA 95192, USA). Participants completed a blind sensory evaluation of whole ancient wheat breads, spelt and einkorn, and a questionnaire to assess their level of knowledge, attitudes, and consumption behaviors of whole grains, ancient grains, and breads. Data analysis revealed that participants with “positive” attitudes rated the color of the crumb of the spelt and modern conventional whole grain wheat significantly higher (scores 3.89 and 3.63, respectively) than did participants with a “less positive” attitude (scores 3.12 and 3.18, respectively) (p < 0.05). Knowledge, attitude, and consumption behavior scores were positively correlated with sensory liking of many characteristics (values of r ranging from 0.200 to 0.345). White bread was significantly preferred in every sensory category except overall aroma, which received similar ratings as spelt. Spelt was significantly preferred to modern whole wheat in flavor and texture characteristics. More research is needed to determine sensory liking of ancient wheat breads mixed with different formulations and evaluated under non-blind conditions.