Sensory and Instrumental Evaluation of Apple Color

Instrumental measurement of color places hue in a 360° continuum, but sensory description of color usually refers to distinct hues — red, green, yellow etc. Color evaluation of “Golden Delicious” apples by both an instrumental method and an experienced sensory panel was conducted to determine if sensory panelists perceive changes of golden apple color in green and yellow hues separately or on a hue continuum from green to yellow. Apple color changed from green to yellow during storage. Two different sensory scoring ballots were used to determine if sensory panelists view color in discrete green and yellow hues or on a green‐to‐yellow continuum. Data collected from this study demonstrated that sensory panelists can detect the color changes of decreasing greenness, increasing yellowness, and color change from green to yellow in an equal fashion. Hue angle represented the best predictor of sensory color perception.