SENSORY EVALUATION AND CUSTOMERS' PERCEPTION OF SOME PAWPAW (Asimina triloba Dunal) PRODUCTS

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba Dunal) is a native North American fruit species that belongs to the Annonaceae family. In Romania, it was introduced for the first time in 1926, by Suciu family from Alba County, but for many decades remained unknown. Extended studies on the plant and new varieties are made at the Experimental Field, within the Faculty of Horticulture in Bucharest, starting with 2000. The purpose of this paper is to present the sensory evaluation of some pawpaw processed products: pawpaw ice cream; pawpaw yoghurt; pawpaw with sweet cottage cheese; pawpaw chocolate bar. Customers' perception consisted on the evaluation of general appearance, colour, texture, taste and flavour, noticed with grades from 1 to 7. The results showed that most of analysed products have been positively appreciated by consumers and their preferences varied with gender, age and origin.