**7. Sensory response of fermented products**

Sensory response including color, flavor, odor, texture, and overall acceptability is the main contributing parameters for the acceptance of products. Sensory evaluation of fermented soybean is mostly carried out using seven‐point hedonic scale. The prepared natto obtained higher scores for color, appearance, taste, and viscosity than non‐fermented cooked soybean [46]. Similarly, chungkukjang flavor, taste, and overall acceptability are evaluated using nine‐ point hedonic scale and reported that fermented soybean has high savory flavor and lower bitterness than traditional natto [47].

Moreover, soybean fermented with *B. subtilis TN51* has superior aroma than that of conven‐ tionally fermented soybean [27]. In another study, sensory traits of natto, *that are,* color, aroma, stickiness, bitterness, sweetness, sourness, and chewiness were determined through continu‐ ous linear intensity‐scale of 10 cm with multiple demographic panelists such as Chinese, Japanese, and American. There were non‐significant variations observed in sweetness or sourness and flavor in commercial available natto and laboratory prepared similar product [37].
