Sensory characteristics of five sweet potato cultivars and their changes during storage under tropical conditions

Five sweet potato cultivars (Kemb10, SPK004, KSP20, Yan Shu 1 and Zapallo) were analysed for their sensory characteristics and changes herein during storage under tropical conditions. Nine descriptors for sweet potato were derived after brainstorming and quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA). These were: floury, smooth, soft, chestnutty, sweet, fibrous, grainy, moist and discoloration. Significant differences were observed among the cultivars profiles. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed two principal components (PC1 and PC2) explaining in total 68% of the variation. PC1 explained 52% and correlated with textural properties, and PC2 explained 16% of the variation and correlated with flavour components. The results suggest that differences between sweet potato cultivars are mainly determined by textural components. Storage had most effect on the sweet and chestnutty characteristics, and did not affect the texture characteristics. Overall the changes during storage were less significant than the differences between the cultivars.