Sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of black walnut gelato.

The objective of this study was to determine the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of gelato made with six black walnut cultivars: Davidson, Emma K, Football, Pounds, Sparks 127, and Vandersloot. The descriptive sensory panel found that black walnut ID, overall nutty and sour ( P ≤ 0.05) attributes were different among gelato samples. The gelato samples were evaluated by 103 consumers for overall liking. Three clusters of consumers were found: one cluster of consumers ( n = 29) liked milder black walnut flavour, while another ( n = 20) liked more intense black walnut and overall nutty flavour. The third cluster of consumers ( n = 54) liked all of the gelato samples. Consumer variation seeking tendency information was also collected. No significant differences in overall liking between the different types of variety seeking consumers. Gelati made with Pounds and Sparks 127 cultivars were accepted by all consumers indicating that these may be good cultivars to include in novel consumer products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]