. However, to successfully market muscadines to consumers only familiar with V. vinifera table grapes, new muscadine cultivars with textural attributes more akin to V. vinifera table grapes will likely need to be developed. Texture is one of the most
During storage, many apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) genotypes lose their desirable textural qualities, but some like `Honeycrisp', maintain their sensory Crispness and Firmness. To understand this differential response of genotypes to postharvest changes in texture, reliable and quantifiable methods of texture measurement are needed. This study integrated data from a snapping test, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and sensory panels to study postharvest textural changes and to predict sensory textural attributes of Firmness, Crispness, Mealiness, and Juiciness. Three separate analyses on fresh, stored, and combined fresh and stored fruit data yielded different predictors for the same sensory attributes. Change in Crispness during storage was successfully predicted by change in Work during storage. Cell number and size were related to fresh fruit texture and its maintenance during storage. Unique textural properties of `Honeycrisp' were found to be inherited by its progeny.
Developmental changes in fruit texture during ripening were determined based on remote sensing of surface vibrations. The technique was evaluated with fruit having a range of firmness and textural characteristics including kiwifruit [Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) Liang et Ferguson, `Hayward'] treated with ethylene, apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh. `Ourei') stored at 10 or 20 °C and persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. `Fuyu') stored at 10 °C. In each case fruit were placed on a stage capable of imparting sine wave vibrations with frequencies ranging from 5 to 2,000 Hz. The vibration transmitted through the fruit to the top surface was precisely measured without any direct contact with the Doppler laser vibrometer. The perceived fruit surface signal was corrected by subtraction of the stage vibration based on an accelerometer signal, hence the true vibrational signal of the fruit mass was determined. The phase shift at selected frequencies was based on the difference between the input and output vibration. The phase shift significantly increased in the range of 1,200 to 1,600 Hz in all three kinds of fruit analyzed as a function of maturation. The resonance frequency, peak height, and peak width of second resonance peak were also determined. The resonance frequency decreased in all fruit as a function of maturation. In apple, the peak height decreased as a function of storage duration, but in kiwifruit and persimmon the peak height fluctuated and a consistent pattern in this particular parameter was not observed. The amplitude of vibration decreased as a function of maturation when the imposed vibration exceeded 1,200 Hz. Data clearly showed that the Doppler laser vibrometer is capable of detecting the phase shift and vibration amplitude of fruit, and can be used as a versatile remote sensory tool for determining fruit firmness and for evaluations of maturity.
have not been thoroughly analyzed, and the textural properties of plums have been rarely reported. Previous studies on the preference of horticultural products have repeatedly demonstrated that texture attributes are very important in preference models
Abstract
The perception of food acceptability may be divided into 3 major categories: (a) appearance (color, shape) is based on optical properties; (b) flavor (taste and odor) is the response of the receptors in the oral cavity to chemical stimuli; (c) touch, is the response of the tactile senses to physical stimuli that results from contact between some part of the body and the food. The sensation of touch is commonly called “texture” but has also been called “kinesthetics” (24) and “haptaesthesis” (30). Texture is an important quality attribute of horticultural products and should be given equal weight with appearance and flavor for most commodities.
Soil texture is an intrinsic attribute defined as the distribution and proportion of particles at a given size to compose a given soil ( Hillel, 1998 ). Knowledge of texture can be used to describe characteristics of soil relating to water
Several fresh-market fruit species have textures that range from soft to crisp, including apple ( Malus × domestica ), grape ( Vitis vinifera ), peach ( Prunus persica ), and sweet cherry ( Prunus avium ) ( Batisse et al., 1996 ; Ghiani et al
. Preserved flowers were first developed in 1991, and are prepared from fresh flowers by replacing their internal moisture with polyethylene glycol ( de Winter-Scailteur, 1991 ). These processed flowers can retain their fresh texture and flexibility for
Over the past two decades, selections that produce crisp-textured blueberries have been noted by breeders. Research was conducted to determine how these selections differ from standard cultivars. Four blueberry clones with crisp texture were compared, using firmness, with 94 advanced selections from the University of Florida blueberry breeding program. The clones, tested for berry firmness with an Instron machine, produced a normal distribution. The crisp clones were at the high end of the distribution, but were not qualitatively different from other firm-fruited selections. Firmness was tested during final stages of berry development to determine if crisp clones softened more slowly than standard cultivars. In both 2003 and 2004, firmness decreased greatly from the white to pink stages of development, with slower loss of firmness thereafter. Crisp and commercial clones were similar in the timing of firmness loss. Berries from six crisp clones and four firm commercial cultivars were subjected to shear cell tests to see if the two groups could be distinguished. Shear cell tests from early and late harvests in the same year showed good agreement. Three of the four crisp clones were much higher in shear force than the other clones tested. A consumer sensory panel was conducted to determine if the average person could distinguish between the berries of crisp and standard cultivars. Ninety-five subjects were given two samples each of crisp and non-crisp blueberries, and asked to designate the one sample they thought the most crisp. Seventy-five subjects chose one of the two crisp clones and 20 chose one of the standard clones. This research indicates that crisp texture in blueberry exists and is recognizable and repeatable, but is difficult to objectively define.
Fruit texture traits, significant to apple breeder decision-making yet unobservable until tree maturity, are ideal candidates for marker-assisted breeding (MAB) and marker-assisted selection (MAS). Marker-locus-trait associations, validated in