Evaluation and correlation of sensory attributes and chemical compositions of emerging fresh produce: Microgreens

Xiao, Zhenlei; Lester, Gene E.; Park, Eun-Hee; Saftner, Robert A.; Luo, Yaguang; Wang, Qin

doi:10.1016/j.postharvbio.2015.07.021

Cited by 106 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Moreover, legume seeds are known to have high soluble sugars contents (Obendorf & Gorecki, ). As far as TA is concerned, the values recorded in our experiments were in line with those obtained by Xiao et al (), which were associated with “good” to “excellent” judgment by their panelist.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Taste quality traits and volatile profiles of sprouts and wheatgrass from hulled and non‐hulled Triticum species

Bianchi¹,

Falcinelli

Tosti

et al. 2019

J Food Biochem

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Wheat sprouts and wheatgrass represent a sort of fresh vegetable for the ready‐to‐eat market and are acknowledged for their bioactive compounds content. Besides nutritional properties, sensory quality is a crucial issue for consumers’ satisfaction. This work reports several sensory traits of sprouts and wheatgrass from five genotypes of Triticum species. Sprouts showed higher soluble solids content (SSC) and SSC/TA (titratable acidity) ratio than wheatgrass. The prevalent volatile compounds of both sprouts and wheatgrass were 1‐penten‐3‐ol, 1‐penten‐3‐one, E‐2‐hexenal, and 1‐octen‐3‐ol, responsible for green, solvent, earthy, and mushroom odors. Differences among samples were affected more by the growing stage than by the genotype. Practical applications Results indicate sprouts and wheatgrass have a strong flavor, which might not be acceptable to consumers. This suggests the addition of sprouts to vegetable‐based products, such as salads, in order to enhance the taste complexity while providing valuable phytochemicals. Similarly, the strong flavor of wheatgrass, which is mainly used alone to make juices, could be mitigated by mixing it with other vegetable products or by using it as a garnishment. Overall, the observed sensory traits and volatile compounds represent a tool for a tailored choice of the sprout stage and genotype depending on the desired food specialty (e.g., salad, course garnishment, juice).

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Taste quality traits and volatile profiles of sprouts and wheatgrass from hulled and non‐hulled Triticum species

Bianchi¹,

Falcinelli

Tosti

et al. 2019

J Food Biochem

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“…Though the health impacts of microgreens were not assessed in the present study, the data from this study will inform future research studies that will evaluate their health impacts. Thus, microgreens were selected based on previous research evaluating their sensory attributes and consumer acceptability, nutritional characteristics, environmental sustainability, and health impacts (Huang et al., 2016; Weber, 2017; Xiao et al., 2012, 2015), as well as researcher interest and input regarding their potential for use as functional foods in reducing disease risk. The microgreen species were chosen due to their potential to provide diversity with respect to their organoleptic properties, as well as micronutrients and bioactive compounds demonstrated to influence human health.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To further establish microgreens as a major horticultural food crop, further integrate them into the global food system, and evaluate and disseminate their health impacts, understanding consumer acceptability is critical. To date, only one study has evaluated the sensory properties and consumer acceptance of six select microgreens (Xiao et al., 2015), concluding that all microgreens tested had high consumer acceptability. While promising, more research is warranted to further elucidate consumer acceptance of various microgreens species, including factors contributing to their acceptability or lack thereof by individuals and populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microgreens: Consumer sensory perception and acceptance of an emerging functional food crop

Michell

Isweiri

Newman

et al. 2020

Journal of Food Science

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Microgreens are an emerging functional food crop with promise for sustainably diversifying global food systems, facilitating adaptations to urbanization and global climate change, and promoting human health. Previous work suggests microgreens have high nutritional quality, low environmental impacts, and broad consumer acceptance. For better reception into the global food system and increased per capita consumption, research is needed to elucidate consumer acceptance of various microgreens species, including factors contributing to their acceptance or lack thereof. Using a consumer panel (n = 99), this study evaluated consumer sensory perception and acceptability of six microgreens species (arugula, broccoli, bull's blood beet, red cabbage, red garnet amaranth, and tendril pea), and potential drivers and barriers to consumer acceptance. All microgreens species received high mean liking scores for acceptability by consumers (means ranged from highly acceptable to slightly acceptable), with more distinct differences across microgreens species for flavor and overall acceptability, which appeared to be driven by specific sensory properties. Data from principal component analysis demonstrated that high acceptability scores were associated with higher intent to purchase microgreens and negatively associated with food neophobia. Participants indicated that factors such as knowledge and familiarity of microgreens, cost, access/availability, freshness/shelf life, among other factors, influence their intention to purchase microgreens. These findings suggest that further integration of microgreens into the global food system will be met with high consumer acceptability, but needs to be aligned with enhanced consumer education regarding microgreens, as well as considerations of cost, availability/access, and freshness/shelf life.Practical Application: Researchers investigated consumer sensory perception and acceptability of six microgreens species (arugula, broccoli, bull's blood beet, red cabbage, red garnet amaranth, and tendril pea), and potential drivers and barriers to consumer acceptance. All microgreens tested had high consumer acceptability, but certain factors such as sensory perception and food neophobia impacted their acceptability. Additionally, participants indicated that factors such as knowledge, access and availability, cost, freshness, and shelf life may impact the purchasing of microgreens and thus are important factors to consider for further integration of this emerging functional food crop into the global food system.

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“…It is a growing trend that farmers do not grow head lettuce to their full mature size because lettuce often needs to be immediately packaged in a fixed size of a carton for 24 heads at the production site (Simko et al, 2014). In addition, multiple research studies indicated that premature lettuces such as microgreen and baby greens contained more nutritious phytochemicals and demand for miniature sized lettuce is increasing (Kim et al, 2016;Pinto, Almeida, Aguiar, & Ferreira, 2015;Xiao et al, 2015;Ascensión, Luna, Selma, Tudela, Abad, & Gil, 2012;Martínez-Sánchez et al, 2012).…”

Section: Lettuce Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Year-Round Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Production in a Flow-Through Aquaponic System

Johnson¹,

Buzby²,

Semmens³

et al. 2016

JAS

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Aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics and aquaculture that sustainably produces both animal and plant food products. Soluble nutrients are released into water by the fish providing nutrition for plant growth. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular vegetables grown in aquaponic systems. In this experiment, the feasibility of year-round lettuce production utilizing a cold water flow-through aquaponic system (FTS) growing trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a high tunnel was evaluated. A high tunnel is a greenhouse-like facility constructed with polyethylene covering a metal frame which extends the growing season and protects the crop from cold temperatures. The average night air temperature inside the high tunnel during winter in Wardensville, WV was 2.9±3.4 °C and it helped extend the growing period into the fall and winter. Results from this pilot scale experiment showed the potential for year-round lettuce production in an FTS. Average yield (fresh harvest weight per tray) in the spring season was the highest, while productivity (average yield per week) during the summer season was higher than that in spring. During the extended growing seasons (fall and winter), more than a quarter (30.6%) of the total lettuce production was obtained. The yield per unit area (7.4 kg m -2 ) from our pilot study was significantly higher than that from the reported average field production (3.1 kg m -2 ) in the U.S. except California and Arizona where year-round production of lettuce occurs. To compensate for lower lettuce yields during cold seasons, high value crops requiring less nutrients and tolerant to the colder environment may be considered.

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Evaluation and correlation of sensory attributes and chemical compositions of emerging fresh produce: Microgreens

Cited by 106 publications

References 23 publications

Taste quality traits and volatile profiles of sprouts and wheatgrass from hulled and non‐hulled Triticum species

Taste quality traits and volatile profiles of sprouts and wheatgrass from hulled and non‐hulled Triticum species

Microgreens: Consumer sensory perception and acceptance of an emerging functional food crop

Year-Round Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Production in a Flow-Through Aquaponic System

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