Sensory evaluation of the texture of steam-cooked table potatoes

Abstract

The texture of steam-cooked potatoes from ten cultivars was sensory evaluated after two, four and nine months storage for three consecutive years. The sensory data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and regression analysis. PCA revealed that the first two principal components explained 95% or more of the variance between the data. The first principal component was dominated by the descriptorsmealy (M)/crumbly (A/M) on the positive side and the descriptorswaxy (A/M) on the negative side. The descriptorfirm (M) had a high positive loading on the second principle component. Regression analysis showed that cultivar effects dominated storage effects. Based on these data, a proposal is made to divide the ten cultivars in four groups which differ for the descriptorsmealy (M)/crumbly (A/M), waxy (A/M) andfirm (M).