ABSTRACT Kiwiberries (Actinidia arguta ‘Hortgem Tahi’) are a convenient, grape-sized (∼ 12 g) kiwifruit with an edible skin that are easier to eat than standard kiwifruit. In this study, we examined consumer preferences for kiwiberries. ‘Hortgem Tahi’ fruit harvested from five orchards were presented to 119 consumers such that each participant received fruit that were matched for firmness and selected according to physico-chemical measurements to represent a range of levels of quality. Consumers received half fruit with the other portion used to determine ripe soluble solids concentration (rSSC) and dry matter concentration (DM). Increases in rSSC and DM were associated with increasing consumers’ scores for liking, acceptability and willingness to purchase. Combining responses from all consumers enabled the generation of curves relating increasing rSSC or DM to increasing liking such that scores increased from about 5 (‘neither like nor dislike’) to about 7 (‘like moderately’) as rSSC increased from ∼10% to ∼17.5% and as the inferred harvest-DM increased from 12.5% to 20%. The results demonstrate that approaches linking physico-chemistry and consumer responses at the individual fruit level can be effective in studies using small fruit.

中文翻译：

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物理化学属性影响消费者对奇异果的偏好（Actinidia arguta 'Hortgem Tahi'）

摘要猕猴桃（Actinidia arguta 'Hortgem Tahi'）是一种方便的葡萄大小（约 12 克）猕猴桃，外皮可食用，比标准猕猴桃更容易食用。在这项研究中，我们调查了消费者对奇异果的偏好。从五个果园收获的“Hortgem Tahi”水果被展示给了 119 名消费者，这样每位参与者都会收到与硬度相匹配的水果，并根据理化测量结果进行选择，以代表一系列质量水平。消费者收到一半水果，另一部分用于确定成熟可溶性固体浓度 (rSSC) 和干物质浓度 (DM)。rSSC 和 DM 的增加与消费者在喜好、可接受性和购买意愿方面的得分增加有关。将所有消费者的反应结合起来，可以生成与增加的 rSSC 或 DM 相关的曲线，从而使分数从约 5（“既不喜欢也不讨厌”）增加到约 7（“中等喜欢”），因为 rSSC 从约 10% 增加到约 17.5%，并且推断收获-DM 从 12.5% 增加到 20%。结果表明，在个体水果水平上将物理化学和消费者反应联系起来的方法在使用小水果的研究中是有效的。