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Consumers' Opinion on Dried Pomegranate Arils to Determine the Best Processing Conditions
Marina Cano-Lamadrid1, Laura Vázquez-Araújo2,3, Lucía Sánchez-Rodríguez1
1Dept. of Agro-Food Technology, Research Group "Food Quality and Safety", Escuela Politécnica Superior de Orihuela (EPSO), Univ. Miguel Hernández de Elche, Carretera de Beniel, km 3.2, 03312, Orihuela, Alicante, Spain.
Journal of Food Science
|November 20, 2018
Summary
Consumer preferences guide processed food quality. This study identified optimal drying methods for pomegranate arils, linking sensory traits and volatile compounds to consumer liking, with new methods outperforming commercial standards.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Sensory Analysis
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Consumer preference is crucial for improving processed food quality, yet small companies often lack resources for consumer studies.
- Understanding consumer insights is vital for developing effective product development strategies in the food industry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate consumer insights for recommending the optimal drying methodology for pomegranate arils.
- To correlate descriptive sensory characteristics and volatile compounds with consumer responses to identify drivers of liking.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 19 volatile compounds in dehydrated pomegranate arils using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
- Application of Partial Least Square regression (PLS) to link sensory attributes and volatile compounds with consumer liking.
- Utilizing penalty analysis to identify areas for improvement in commercial pomegranate aril products.
Main Results:
- Consumer liking was positively associated with 'pom ID', 'sweet', and 'fruity' attributes, and volatile compounds from the esters family.
- Overall liking was negatively correlated with 'off-flavor' and 'burnt' attributes, linked to furan compounds.
- Pomegranate aril samples processed with new drying techniques, particularly pre-osmotic dehydration in pomegranate juice, were preferred over the commercial sample.
Conclusions:
- The study provides valuable insights into consumer preferences for dehydrated pomegranate arils, aiding industry in product development.
- The integration of physico-chemical analysis and sensory evaluation offers potential indicators for assessing the sensory quality of processed foods.
- New drying techniques show promise for enhancing consumer acceptance of pomegranate arils, offering a competitive advantage for small companies.