Sensory evaluation of walnut fruit

Abstract The paper provides an in-depth examination of the sensory differences between cultivars of walnut fruit (Juglans regia L.) from different countries. Eighteen samples, belonging to three clonal cultivars, plus some other genetic selections, collected from five European countries (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) were analyzed for their sensory characteristics by a panel trained in Descriptive Analysis (DA). Fifteen descriptors were selected to describe the fruits, covering the following attributes: external appearance of the shell and kernel, colour, visual, manual and oral texture, taste and flavour. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) adequately reduced the multidimensional structure of the data and distinguished the regions of origin of the walnut samples more effectively than the cultivars. Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA) was also included to describe relationships between samples and to evaluate assessor performance.