Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/52389
Honeycrisp? What's the appeal of Consumers like everything about the variety. by Melissa Hansen 100 YEARS Because we offer the QUALITY you expect and deserve! Honeycrisp admirers describe the popular variety as being sweet, juicy, and crunchy. H Your Krymsk® 5 & 6 Headquarters! 100 Years at Newcastle, Ca 800-675-6075 FowlerNurseries.com FowlerNurseries.com 12 JANUARY 15, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com oneycrisp apples have delighted consumers with their taste and growers with their high returns. The unmanaged variety, released in the early 1990s, has proven that consumers will pay more for an apple they like. But what is it specifically that they like about Honeycrisp? "What's the deal with Honeycrisp? Everything," said Dr. Carolyn Ross, food science professor and manager of Washington State University's Sensory Evaluation Unit. Ross works closely with WSU's cherry and apple breed- ing programs, using trained sensory panelists and con- sumers to map consumer preferences and identify the drivers of consumer acceptance of fruit (sweetness, color, size, juiciness, firmness, and such). Breeders can then use the sensory attribute information in their work to make selections that have consumer appeal and acceptance. For example, her evaluations have shown that for cherries, color is the most important trait to the con- sumer, followed by shape and size, and that flavor and juiciness are more important than firmness. For apples, consumers fall into two groups—those that like apples sweet and hard and those who prefer juicy and acidic apples. Firmness and sweetness are the strongest predictors of overall acceptance, followed by sourness and juiciness. Trained panelists rated Fuji the highest for sweetness and Granny Smith as the lowest, not surprisingly, as Grannies are tart apples. When panelists compared Honeycrisp and Gala apples, she found that they liked everything about Honeycrisp. "It wasn't just the texture. There was not any one thing that they liked best—they really liked the flavor, crispness—everything about the variety." Ross shared her information during the Washington State Horticultural Association's annual meeting in December. •