Assessment of sensory firmness and crunchiness of table grapes by acoustic and mechanical properties

Background and Aims: The instrumental measurement of crunchiness in tablegrapes has been the subject of littleresearch in spite of the great relevance of this sensory texture trait to consumer preference. Therefore, our aim wasto evaluate the potential of several mechanical and acoustic properties to assess the perceived firmness andcrunchiness of tablegrape cultivars.Methods and Results: The ripening effect was minimised by densimetric sorting of the berries before testing. Thetextural quality of seven tablegrape cultivars was evaluated by sensory analysis. Furthermore, three mechanical tests(texture profile analysis, cutting and denture) were performed on the berry flesh or on whole berries, and theacoustic emission produced was recorded simultaneously. Correlation studies showed strong and significant rela-tionships between sensory texture attributes and instrumental parameters, particularly for the denture test. Never-theless, satisfactory predictive accuracy for the perceived crunchiness required multivariate linear regressioninvolving both mechanical and acoustic properties resulting from the denture test performed on whole berries. In thiscase, residual predictive interquartile amplitude was higher than 2. Most of the reliable models developed forperceived firmness are fairly recommended not for quantitative purposes but for fast screening (1.6 < residualpredictive interquartile amplitude < 2).Conclusions: The standardised protocol proposed permits more objective and quantitative sensory data to beobtained for firmness and crunchiness of tablegrapes.Significance of the Study: A combined mechanical–acoustic strategy has not previously been used in tablegrapesand represents a powerful tool for a more complete and exhaustive texture characterisation, particularly firmnessand crunchiness, by means of a more objective and standardised protocol.