Consumer evaluation and quality measurement of fresh-cut slices of ‘Fuji,’ ‘Golden Delicious,’ ‘GoldRush,’ and ‘Granny Smith’ apples

We compared the eating quality of a new apple cultivar, ‘GoldRush,’ with ‘Golden Delicious’ (one of its parents), ‘Fuji,’ and ‘Granny Smith’ (the latter two often used for fresh-cut apple slices). We also compared a commercial with an in-house processing treatment, NatureSeal for apples and Produce Quality and Safety Laboratory (PQSL), respectively. Intact apples that had been stored for about 6 months were washed, processed into fresh-cut slices, stored, and then served to consumers. Both NatureSeal and PQSL treatments maintained cut-surface color values similar to values at the time of cutting. NatureSeal-treated slices were rated slightly better for texture than those receiving the PQSL treatment, but there was no significant difference in acceptability of appearance or flavor. Acceptability scores for the texture and flavor of ‘GoldRush,’ and of ‘Fuji’ when included, were higher than those of ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Golden Delicious.’ There were small age and gender biases, with older women liking ‘GoldRush’ less and older men liking ‘Granny Smith’ less than other age groups and cultivars in one study. No instrumental measurement was a satisfactory predictor of sensory acceptability scores. ‘GoldRush’ proved to be a promising new cultivar for fresh-cut apple slices and the in-house processing solution maintained the quality of apple slices similar to that of a commercial processing treatment. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.