Sensory evaluation as a selection tool in apple breeding

Several conventional sensory methods were adapted to provide a procedure th at is suitable for screening apple (Malus x domestica) breeding selections for dessert quality. Trained judges were presented with randomized coded sa mples (apple slices) and asked to rate them on 0 to 9 bipolar hedonic (liki ng) scales for texture and flavour, and 0 to 9 unipolar intensity scales fo r skin toughness, crispness, hardness, juiciness, aroma, sweetness and sour ness. Appearance liking was rated on coded samples of five whole apples, us ing the 0 to 9 hedonic scale. A minimum panel size of eleven judges was gen erally sufficient to obtain statistical discrimination of one point on the 0 to 9 scales. Panel mean scores for breeding selections relative to standa rds have been consistent from panel to panel and year to year. A subset of selections and cultivars was rated for appearance and taste by consumers in blind taste tests. In-house panel findings were comparable to consumer rat ings for taste and appearance liking, with a few exceptions in appearance. Panel mean scores for texture and flavour liking were regressed on texture and flavour components. Crispness accounted for about 90% of the variation in texture liking. Juiciness, aroma, sweetness and sourness were all import ant to flavour liking, but their relative importance changed from year to y ear and in total accounted for only about 60% of variation in flavour likin g. Perceived sweetness and sourness were better predictors of liking than a nalytical measurements of soluble solids and titratable acidity. Formal sen sory evaluation can be used successfully for screening breeding selections, and may provide more reliable data than the opinions of only one or two pe ople.