ISHS Acta Horticulturae 703: II International Symposium on Sweetpotato and Cassava: Innovative Technologies for Commercialization
FLAVOR - THE KEY TO SWEETPOTATO CONSUMPTION |
| Author: | S.J. Kays |
| Keywords: | breeding, selection, flavor chemistry, acceptability, consumption |
| Abstract:
Sweetpotato is the seventh most important food crop worldwide. When contrasted with other major staple food crops, it has a diverse range of positive attributes, however, total production has remained essentially unchanged over the past 40 years even though the world population has doubled during that interval. The problem is not in our ability to produce the crop; the problem is consumption. Factors contributing to the diminishing popularity of sweetpotato and how they might be circumvented are addressed, with the primary focus on flavor. A new technique for analytically assessing flavor and integrating this information into selection decisions in sweetpotato breeding programs is described and its advantages and potential application to other food crops discussed. Clones exhibiting distinctly different flavors were analyzed for sugars, nonvolatile acids, and aroma chemistry to identify the critical flavor components. Differences in sugars, sucrose equivalents, nonvolatile acids, and odor-active compounds that accounted for differences in flavor among the clones were assessed. Using the intensity of the aroma per µL for each of the 17 most important aroma-active compounds and the relative sweetness of individual sugars multiplied by their respective concentrations, principal component analysis allowed accurate classification of the clones according to flavor-type. Using known flavor-types as a standard, new progeny can be assessed rapidly and accurately for flavor without sensory analysis. Analytical assessment of flavor would greatly facilitate the accurate evaluation of large numbers of progeny, the simultaneous selection of multiple flavor-types, and the development of superior new cultivars for a wide cross-section of food crops. | |
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