Correlation Analysis of Matooke Instrumental Measurements and Sensory Panel Data

This report presents the results of a correlation study of instrumental texture, colour, quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and consumer test data of 10 contrasting genotypes. The objective of this activity was to confirm how dependable the instrumental measures of matooke colour and texture are in predicting the sensory quality of matooke vis-à-vis colour and texture, respectively. Ten contrasting genotypes including landraces (Kibuzi, Mbwazirume, Nakitembe, Nfuuka) and hybrids (NARITA 17, M30, M9, NARITA 9, NARITA 13, and NARITA 22) were used in the study. The genotypes were cooked (Nowakunda et. al 2019) and divided into three portions (1) For consumer testing (Marimo et al, 2019); (2) For QDA analysis (Khakasa et al. 2023), and (3) for texture and colour instrumental analyses (Nowakunda et al. 2023; Khakasa et al, 2024). Correlation analyses were performed using means, and ANOVAs in XLSTAT. Results showed positive correlation (r =0.78) between the instrumentally assessed yellowness (b*cooked pulp) and Sensorial assessed yellowness. The instrumental yellowness (b* cooked pulp) and overall liking score for the colour of the cooked matooke was aslo positively related (r=0.81). However, the yellowness of the raw matooke pulp (b*raw pulp) had a moderate positive correlation (r=0.59) with the yellowness of the cooked pulp (bcooked pulp). For texture, strong positive correlation was observed between firmness in the mouth and instrumental hardness (r = 0.97) implying that firmer samples are perceived as hard. Positive correlations were observed between moistness and smoothness (0.84), smoothness and overall liking (0.87); implying that consumers prefer matooke samples that are smooth and moist.