Consumer Sensory Perception of Jamu Gendong: The Traditional Javanese Herbal Drink

Brawijaya Senso-Gastronomy Center, Departement of Food Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology , Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: kiki.fibrianto@ub.ac.id

Abstract

“Jamu gendong” is a traditional herbal drink from Indonesia that offers various health benefits, such as boosting immunity, detoxification, disease prevention, and many more. While there are many variances of jamu gendong, the scope of this current study was limited to observed 5 herbal drinks, inlcuding “beras kencur”, “cabe puyang”, “kunyit asam”, “pahitan”, and “sinom” from several producers in Malang City. This study was aimed to map the sensory profiles of “jamu gendong” and further to investigate consumer preferences on “jamu gendong” particularly among Indonesian young generation. Involving 110 untrained panelists, the study shown that “sinom” and “kunyit asam” were preferred with the highest overall acceptance scores (p-value<0.05). Both “jamu” was sensorially dominated by sour taste and sour aftertaste. In general, the panelists disliked the bitter properties of jamu gendong as “pahitan” with the highest bitter taste (p-value<0.05) was also related to the lowest acceptance level (p-value<0.05). The fact that “pahitan” was the least preferred jamu also related to its lowest total dissolved solids and thickness intensity, as well as the highest bitter taste, astringent mouth-feel and astringent mouth-after-feel (p-value<0.05).