Using projective techniques and food neophobia scale to explore the perception of traditional ethnic foods in central Mexico: a preliminary study with the case of Sende

BERNAL-GIL, NORMA YARELI; FAVILA-CISNEROS, HÉCTOR JAVIER; ZARAGOZA-ALONSO, JAZMIN; CUFFIA, FACUNDO; ROJAS-RIVAS, EDGAR

JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2020

0887-8250

Foods considered ethnic are produced and consumed in a specific region. However, it has been documented that the population expresses fear of the intention of eating new foods, specifically those with ethnic characteristics. Furthermore, the perception of the Mexican consumers toward this sort of foods has been scarcely studied. The aim of this work was to explore the perception toward Sende ? a traditional ethnic Mazahua beverage of low alcoholic content, produced from germinated corn, dried, cooked and fermented ? using Word Association (WA) and Food Neophobia Scale (FNS). A questionnaire was designed and applied to 160 people in the Central Mexico area where, traditionally, this beverage is produced. The mean of FNS was 26.70, which suggests that neophobia level in the sample under study was low. Through WA, 13 categories were obtained which reflect the perception toward the beverage. By means of Cluster Analysis three groups were obtained, which presented differences in FNS and the categories obtained through WA. These results may serve to promote and foster the consumption of traditional ethnic foods, which are not familiar for the population, and to increasing the number of new producing establishments, improving profitability and developing the local economy.