A comparison of the eating quality of selected potato cultivars from two potato production regions in South Africa.

BACKGROUND Limited scientific information is available on the eating quality of potato cultivars in South Africa. This study aimed to determine, describe and compare the eating quality of three potato cultivars from two production regions (dry land and irrigated land) in South Africa, through sensory and physical evaluation. Sensory descriptors were identified for the sensory attributes and a lexicon was developed. A category scale was used to rate the sensory attributes and physical measurements of specific gravity, shear force resistance and scanning electron microscopy were performed. RESULTS It became evident that both sensory evaluation and physical measurements need to be performed in order to determine the eating quality of potato cultivars, as one evaluation supports the other. A partial least squares regression modelling method was used to relate the sensory attributes and physical measurements. The intensity of the sensory attributes of the specific cultivars varied between the two production regions. CONCLUSION The eating quality of potatoes obtained from two production regions differed from another due to climatic conditions and other production characteristics that exist (dry land vs. irrigation). The study confirms the valuable contribution of determining the eating quality of potato cultivars.