Influence of storage conditions on the sensory quality of a high acid apple

Summary Studies involving sensory analysis and consumer acceptance have not been reported for high acid apples. The objectives of this work were to determine (i) the influence of storage condition on sensory quality and (ii) which instrumental attributes would influence good consumer acceptability of a high acid apple, ‘Reinette du Canada’. Textural descriptors including firmness, crispness and juiciness and acidity decreased during storage irrespective of the storage condition, with fruit stored in cold storage (CS) having lower sensory scores than fruit stored in controlled atmospheres (CA). Consumer acceptance decreased significantly during storage, although loss of quality in the CS fruit was significantly greater than in the CA-stored fruit. It must be emphasised that titratable acidity (TA) played a positive role in consumer acceptability. As hue, firmness and TA were the instrumental properties that best correlated with consumer acceptance, these instrumental properties would be useful for predicting during long-term storage, the consumer acceptability of a high acid apple such as ‘Reinette du Canada’.