Sensory properties of Nordic edible mushrooms

Edible mushrooms are a global food with a history of consumption spanning several millennia. However, studies utilizing modern sensory methods on mushrooms are still scarce. In this study, the sensory properties of Nordic edible mushrooms were analyzed by two methods. In the sensory profile, sous vide processed wild mushroom species Cantharellus cibarius, Craterellus tubaeformis, Boletus edulis, and Lactarius camphoratus were studied with cultivated Agaricus bisporus as a control species. The sensory profile consisted of 18 descriptors, and the 5 mushrooms differed from each other in all of them. Only B. edulis and A. bisporus were linked to typical mushroom-like odor. In projective mapping, consumers evaluated blanched wild C. cibarius, C. tubaeformis and Suillus variegatus as well as cultivated Lentinula edodes and both blanched and fresh A. bisporus based on odor and on flavor. The consumers intuitively grouped the samples into three groups: wild, fresh cultivated and processed cultivated mushrooms. Wild mushrooms had a high odor intensity and various odor descriptions but a low flavor intensity. Cultivated mushrooms had opposite descriptions. Both tests showed differences in the sensory descriptors between the cultivated and wild mushrooms with the former linked to typical ‘mushroom’, indicating the importance and need for descriptive profiles for different mushroom types.