With a standard sensory evaluation panel, developing new cassava varieties for Ugandans is taking an in-depth and more inclusive direction. On 16th – 18th August 2022, the cassava research program through the NextGen project identified and trained a panel of 12 members that will henceforth undertake more standardized sensory/organoleptic evaluation of cassava materials in the breeding pipeline.
The move seeks to ensure that consumer preferences are incorporated in the breeding process to enhance public acceptance and competitiveness of research-derived cassava varieties. Since inception, NaCRRI’s Cassava Research Programme has developed and released 24 varieties. However, selection of these varieties for release has largely been focused on a handful of traits. “Development of varieties currently on the market focused on output or agronomic traits with less emphasis on culinary attributes of the final end-products,” says Dr. Robert Kawuki, a cassava breeder and the Principal Investigator of the Cassava NextGen project.
The expertise to conduct more objective and adequate palatability evaluations on new the materials has been absent. The panel will now routinely be utilized to assess new cassava materials for culinary qualities including aroma, softness, after-taste, sweetness, bitterness and texture in the mouth.
“We believe that the panel will select what is best for Ugandan consumers and that our varieties will have a wider consumer base and increased adoption resulting from what we do here,” Dr. Kawuki emphasized.
The training involved training panelists on how to undertake basic tastes such as sourness, bitterness, salinity and sweetness. Furthermore, the panelists trained on how to rank the various basic tastes in ascending or descending order of the intensity of a given taste. The training involved how to differentiate various scents.
Consequently, the panel evaluated a set of 23 elite clones which data has informed the selection of 10 clones to be advanced to on-farm trials.
According to Mariam Nakito Food Scientist and lead trainer working with International Potato Center, the aim of the training was to equip participants with the skills required to conducts legitimate sensory analysis of a wide variety of crops especially cassava.