PSU Making Milk Taste Sweeter

Adding vanilla to sweetened milk makes consumers think the beverage is sweeter — allowing the amount of added sugar to be reduced, according to Penn State researchers, who will use the concept to develop a reduced-sugar chocolate milk for the National School Lunch Program.

“We are utilizing a learned association between an odor and a taste that will allow us to reduce the added sugar content,” said Helene Hopfer, assistant professor of food science. “Reducing added sugar in products, just like reducing fat and salt, is the holy grail of food science.”

The idea that congruent or harmonious odor...