CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL AND SENSORY PARAMETERS OF DIFFERENT CARROT VARIETIES ( DAUCUS CAROTA L.).

Four carrot cultivars (Aline, Nogman, RZ and Wokraw) were evaluated in terms of their chemical and organoleptic characteristics. Chemical and sensory characteristic correlations were close to 1.0 between the root cylindrical form and the attributes internal and external colors, minerals, total and insoluble alimentary fibers. There was a strong correlation between minerals, insoluble alimentary fiber and acidity. The Wokraw variety was superior in sweetness but similar in juice. While the carrot cultivars studied in this work differ statistically in most of their sensory features, they were similar to most of the physical and chemical characteristics. This shows that the competition between cultivars is necessary when deciding about the raw material selected to be used in carrot juice production. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Chemical and physical characteristics of raw material are generally analyzed to improve agro-industrial product quality. Consumer preference for natural juices is increasing because of their nutritional properties. This work evaluated four carrot varieties and concluded that sensorial evaluation with a trained panel is a reliable practical procedure for the selection of varieties for carrot juice processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]