THE
TASTE OF GOOD
It
is very difficult to measure objectively, if a food tastes good or not.
This
will depend on the product itself, and the person who is tasting.
There
are a multitude of criteria, measurable or not, which allow characterise the
taste.
One
can quote for example flavorings, sugar, acidity, astringency, bitterness,
firmness, texture, juiciness, the balance between traits.
We
must add all elements that will influence the perception of taste, for example,
the temperature of the food, or what the person has eaten before, and her state
of pleasure during tasting or simply her state of stress or tiredness.
Briefly,
to determine whether a product is good or not , the best way is the tasting by
experts. In the case of wine, it became a profession. In the food industry,
processed products often go through a process of tasting through a consumer
panel. But unfortunately, what is accepted as an objective way to describe a
wine or a cooked canned dish, is neither recognized nor practiced to describe
fresh foods.
Must
still report there, that there are several agencies agricultural
experimentation, as CTIFL in France, which make commendable efforts in this
direction. They allow, for example, characterize a specific variety, describing
its typical aroma or flavor.
But
they are largely inadequate, given the rapid renewal of varieties of species
like peach, and the multiplicity of crop conditions and climatic variations.
And
most importantly, they can not respond to the routine problem of agriculture.
Indeed,
from one year to another, and even during the same season, the taste of the
same food can change, depending on crop or climate conditions. Similarly, a
poor irrigation management, or simply abundant rainfalls during harvest can
pass a fruit from very good quality at the beginning, to tasteless at the end.
In
most cases, in the approach of maturity, sugar and flavorings increase in the
fruit, and in parallel, firmness and acidity reduce. This process occurs in the
last days before maturity. The color and size can be acquired longer before
harvest. Everything depends on the type of fruit and the variety.
It
should be added that several species may acquire their final color after
harvest, during storage, as is the case, for example, of banana, plum, pear and
citrus (process of "degreening").
This
is why a fruit picked too far from its maturity, may have good presentation
skills (color and size) and conservation (firmness), but will be far from
normal gustatory qualities of the variety.
This
explains, as I have explained in my post No. 6 "the taste of fresh
food," of February 2014, that the taste is much more dependent of
harvesting conditions, that from the crop system. We are not able now to
distinguish a conventional production from an organic production, from the
taste of food, comparing the same variety in equivalent crop and climatic
conditions, and identical harvest conditions. Many experiments have been
conducted or are underway around the world, and all those that are monitored
and analyzed without bias, go in this direction. One of the most active
organizations in these actions is the CTIFL (Interprofessional Technical Centre
of Fruits and Vegetables), in France.
We
therefore use simple means that allow a control of minimum criteria. What can
be easily measured?
Sugar
and firmness.
Firmness
is an easily measurable criterion of progress of maturation for many fruits. It
also allows to estimate the life of the fruit after harvest, if the storage
conditions are appropriate.
For
apple, we can also measure the regression of starch to sugars, a sign of
ripeness.
We
can also measure the acidity of the juice, but it requires a laboratory
manipulation, simple but tedious, not always easy to implement, and difficult
to use in routine. This is a quality criterion, not a harvest decision
criterion.
Sugar
is currently the easiest to measure, with firmness criterion. Thanks to
instruments of fast handling, they can be measured directly in the orchard.
These
are quality criteria that make a significant help to choose the perfect time to
harvest.
Determining
the optimal time of harvest is crucial to ensure the highest possible taste
quality of the fruit.
Anticipate
harvest can give a fruit that has a lot of starch (in the case of the apple),
and acid, while having not yet accumulated sugars and flavorings, which can
make it unpleasant and even aggressive in tasting.
Instruments
which are commonly used in the orchard are the penetrometer for firmness,
refractometer for sugar, and the calibrator for the size.
Sugar
is measured using the Brix scale (°Bx or ºB), that measures the concentration
of a sugar solution. A reading of 10°Bx means there is 10g of sugar in 100g of
the solution measured. This is the refractive index RI.
Each
type of fruit has its own references. Thus, a sugar level of 7.5 is considered
high quality taste for a spring strawberry, but will be considered poor taste
for an apple or a peach.
In
peach, the standard requires a RI minimum level of 8 for the earliest
varieties, but it is generally considered that the quality is satisfactory from
9, good from 10, and high from 12.
Here's
a sequence of photos in which I am doing these routine measures in the orchard.
The
size, to choose the harvest criteria, and to tell the sales staff what are the
characteristics of the fruit.
The
firmness, which is measured in the most superficial part of the flesh.
The
refractive index (here, a yellow nectarine, very good).
But
none of this takes into account the aromas, that can give a good peach with low
sugar, or even compensate for a lack of acidity. By against a peach without
flavors nor acidity, will be tasteless, even with more than 10ºBrix.
The
aromas are currently impossible to measure in routine. It's necessary to choose
varieties through tasting.
And
for the farmer, there will always be a problem, sometimes serious. This is the
plant that makes the taste of the fruit. Genetics is the basis. There are
varieties with high gustatory potential (in plum, may be cited the Reine Claude
plums, for example), and others with much more limited gustatory potential
(many varieties of Japanese plums).
But
the weather can play tricks on us, and an overcast weather for several days at
the critical moment, may be enough to make the taste fall sharply .
If
the fruit is picked too early (that is to say, long time before measurable
criteria have reached their ideal potential), then we can come up with a
totally tasteless fruit or bad.
But
even in very unfavorable conditions, a highly aromatic variety is always better
than a little aromatic variety.
It
has to be aware that the taste is not a harvest decision criterion. When the
fruit is physiologically ready to pick, it must be picked, whether good or not,
otherwise you lose it. Flexibility depends largely on the type of crop. In the
case of citrus, the margin is quite large. For example, in the case of
grapefruit, it is several months. In the case of peach, strawberry, apricot,
for example, if one seeks to produce high quality fruit, the margin is one day,
sometimes two, never more, and sometimes less than one day.
Adverse
weather conditions may cause accelerated maturation of the fruit, without the
monitoring criteria have been able to give the warning signal. A heavy and
stormy weather can change a fruit from hard to soft in a few hours.
Visual
monitoring and forecasting of weather conditions will sometimes be harvest
decision criteria.
None
of these means can replace the touch and sight. Criteria such as radiance of
the color or brightness of the fruit, and the sensation of "gummy"
touch that it takes just before losing significantly its firmness, are also
taken into account, and for that, the personnal experience is more useful. It
is here that I still feel essential...
The
main retailing stores, ie supermarkets, have since a long time, chosen to focus
on sugar, because it represents for them a simple, cheap and fast way to check
whether fruits they buy match their specifications.
On
the other hand, they don't seek so much the customer satisfaction, because of
the subjectivity and complexity that it represents, but his non-disappointment.
The high quality taste of a fruit, is difficult to maintain over time, while a
simple criterion of minimum sugar, can not disappoint almost without fail. But
it does not absolutely guarantee that the consumer has taken pleasure in eating
these fruits.
Yet
it is essential to have objective and measurable criteria to assess the quality
of the fruit. The system of limiting the determination of the taste, only to
the criteria of sugar and firmness, is far from perfect. It is even very
inadequate.
Will
we be able, one day, to routinely
measure a wider range of quality criteria?
It
is likely, but in the meantime, the best for you, consumer, is to ask your
local dealer, if he is a specialist , to test, or at least to advise you.
Because
there may be a wide variety of tastes and possible sensations while testing an
apparently homogeneous product. In the only case of peach, you can have
acidulated, balanced or subacid (without acid) , aromatic or not, crunchy or
melting, juicy or paste, sweetened or not
fruits.
So,
a guidance may be welcome, but is not often easy to find.
You
know, when I'm not harvesting peaches, or while on vacation, I am often asked
to buy fruit, because I am an expert. Except when I can do it on the market
(yet), I find myself in the same situation as you. The fruits are generally all
beautiful. But will they be good?
The
only thing you can try, but it does not work every time, is to sniff, smell the
fruit. If they are aromatic, there are more chances they are good.
Good
luck!
I decided to make this post to prepare the next
one, about fruit downgraded because of their superior quality.
