Sensory testing tips and procedures to evaluate quality of stored and minimally processed fruits and vegetables

摘要

Sensory evaluation is primarily used by food companies in product development and prior to marketing. It has been adopted by the horticultural research community as an additional measure of produce quality upon pre- and postharvest treatments. A review of well-accepted sensory evaluation techniques is given, with examples using whole and fresh-cut fruits. Specifically, strawberries from the University of Florida breeding program were evaluated by a consumer panel as well as by a trained panel, over a 5-month season. Consumers preferred fruit that were qualified by the trained panel as sweet and with strong strawberry flavor, which were associated with high levels of soluble solids content (SSC), volatile esters and lactones.