Consumer Acceptance of Royal Gala Apple Snacks Produced by Sun, Oven and Commercial Drying Methods: A Physicochemical and Sensory Perspective

Drying conditions can markedly reshape the sensory and functional quality of fruit snacks and, ultimately, consumer acceptance. This study compares <i>Royal Gala</i> dried apple snacks produced by indirect sun drying (SDA), oven drying (ODA) and two commercial drying methods (CCA and CFA) using an integrated approach combining instrumental colour and texture analysis, sugar profiling, and the measurement of total phenolics and antioxidant activity along with the recording of consumer hedonic and descriptive responses. Consumers (n = 100) evaluated appearance, aroma, sweetness, texture, overall liking and consumption intention on a 9-point hedonic scale, which was complemented by attribute-selection frequencies. The drying method strongly affected colour development: the SDA samples exhibited the lowest browning index (96.78 ± 2.3) and the lightest colour (<i>L</i>* = 84.53), whereas the ODA, CCA and CFA samples showed progressively higher levels of browning (161.83 ± 3.5 to 194.10 ± 3.7). Total sugars ranged from 25.0 to 33.8 mg/100 g extract, with fructose predominating (≈52-69% of total sugars). Phenolic-related markers also differed significantly: the ODA sample presented with the highest total phenolic content (112.5 ± 2.6 mg GAE/100 g extract) and the SDA with the lowest (78.6 ± 1.9 mg GAE/100 g extract). DPPH inhibition was 75.7%, 71.7%, 68.4% and 63.9% for the SDA, ODA, CCA and CFA samples, respectively. ABTS results were consistent with this pattern, with the SDA sample also exhibiting high antioxidant activity (39.0 ± 2.1 μmol Trolox/g extract). Importantly, the SDA and ODA samples achieved the strongest consumer acceptance, with most participants assigning an overall liking score of 8/9, consistent with higher frequencies of favourable flavour and texture. Overall, the combined physicochemical-sensory evidence indicates that drying approach strongly impacts browning, sugar perception and bioactive-related functionality, with the SDA samples yielding the most preferred product profile among the tested dried apple snacks, outperforming industrial methods in terms of consumer acceptance.