Potato Review

34 POTATO REVIEW JULY/AUGUST 2020 TASTE TRIALS Results In the Queen Margaret University taste panel, the red-skinned variety Allouette performed the best for overall acceptability followed by Charlotte. Maris Piper was rated signi cantly poorer for appearance, avour, texture and overall acceptability than all other varieties except Constance and Spectra. “It did surprise me how poorly Maris Piper performed considering it is the most widely grown potato variety in the UK and has been since the 1980’s,” said Lead Researcher at Agrico UK, Dr Steven Muir. Further analysis examined which characteristics had most e ect on consumer preferences. It showed that Allouette and Charlotte were associated with a buttery avour, creamy texture and yellow esh colour. e lowest rated varieties, Maris Piper and Constance, have a white esh colour. Interestingly, when asked, 51% of participants said they prefer a potato with white esh (34% yellow, 15% no preference) but the better scoring varieties had yellow esh. Mr Muir is keen to follow this up with more research to see if it is a consistent nding to improve marketing of potato cultivars. e taste panel at Abertay University also found that yellow esh, creamy texture and a buttery avour were strongly linked to overall acceptability. However, the preferred varieties di ered, Manitou performed best overall followed by Bellanita (which was not presented at Queen Margaret University) and Charlotte. e statistical analysis showed that there was only a signi cant di erence between Manitou and the lowest ranked variety Desiree. Analysis of the results showed that yellow esh is considered desirable and white esh undesirable. Interestingly, the younger cohort at Abertay expressed a preference for yellow esh in the consumer survey and when tasting the potatoes. is is another indication that further work is needed to understand the best way to market potato varieties to increase the appeal to a wide range of consumers. e overall results from the Abertay taste panel showed that the ‘ideal’ boiled potato is associated with a buttery, sweet and creamy avour coupled with creamy or smooth texture. Another interesting nding that requires further investigation is that multi-factor analysis found that panel results indicated higher scores for varieties with lower dry matter. Looking at the results of the two taste panels, Steven believes it has revealed lots of important questions for further research rather than found all the answers. “As we evaluated only boiled potatoes there is scope to extend the work into other preparation methods,” he said. “Consumers now have more food choices than ever so we need to do more research and sensory evaluation into potato preferences so that the industry can supply the right mix of potatoes to the end consumer. It is also about learning how to educate and inform consumers about what is available and how they can use them in everyday meals.” Research method e research was carried out at Queen Margaret’s and Abertay Universities in Scotland where 100 participants were recruited. e potato samples were cubed (12 mm2) and boiled without peel. e Abertay the samples were boiled on the day of the evaluations (without salt) and served to the participants at room temperature. Unfortunately, it was not feasible to prepare samples in this manner at Queen Margaret’s. Instead the cubes were boiled prior to the evaluation and stored for 48 hrs in a refrigerator (at 4°C) and warmed prior to serving. In both taste panels, all samples were in a randomised order and labelled with a code rather than the variety name. e results were then analysed using a range of statistical tests to show the relationships between the potatoes sensory characteristics and acceptability.