CONSUMER SENSORY EVALUATION OF SWEET CHERRY CULTIVARS IN OREGON, USA

Six commercially grown sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars were evaluated in a consumer sensory evaluation in Portland, Oregon on 18 July 2004. Five of the six cultivars were evaluated for taste – ‘Regina’, ‘Sweetheart’, ‘Skeena’, ‘Lapins’ and ‘Bing’ – while ‘Kordia’ (‘Attika’) was included for visual evaluation only. A total of 192 participants were asked to visually examine ‘Bing’, ‘Sweetheart’ and ‘Regina’ cherries for their preference in color. Cherry size preference was evaluated using ‘Bing’ fruit at 30, 25 and 21 mm, and shape preference was evaluated using ‘Kordia’, ‘Skeena’ and ‘Sweetheart’. In addition, participants tasted five cultivars and ranked them according to overall preference. The participants in this pilot evaluation preferred a cherry that was large in size (30 mm or larger) and dark in color (‘Regina’). Sweet tasting cherries were preferred the most (65%) while cherries that lacked flavor or were too sour were preferred the least. ‘Regina’ rated the highest for overall taste preference. Each cultivar had soluble solids concentrations between 19.1 °Brix and 22.7 °Brix, titratable acidity between 0.6 and 1.09 g/100 ml, with flesh firmness between 291 and 427 g/mm.