Fruit size, firmness, color, and sugar/acid ratio are key drivers of consumer preference for greenhouse-grown strawberries

Understanding how diurnal temperatures influence quality differences among strawberry cultivars is crucial for the growth and economic viability of greenhouse production. This study aimed to: (1) identify cultivars and environmental growing conditions that optimize fruit quality and (2) evaluate the correlation between instrumental measurements and sensory attributes to identify predictors for consumer liking. ‘Albion’, ‘San Andreas’, ‘Seascape’, and ‘Mara Des Bois’ cultivars grown under day/night air temperatures (D/N; 12 h/12 h) of 18/10, 21/13, 24/16, and 27/19 °C were characterized via physicochemical and sensory tests, in which all measurements were performed on individual berries. After mass and diameter were measured, each strawberry was symmetrically halved. A consumer panel ( n = 102; 3-session test) immediately evaluated one-half for appearance, texture, flavor attributes, and overall liking. The other half was subjected to instrumental measures of color, firmness, soluble solid content, and titratable acidity. All instrumental measurements showed significant differences between cultivars, temperatures, and their interactions, as did most sensory ratings. Physicochemical and sensory quality generally decreased with increasing D/N temperature. ‘Albion’ and ‘San Andreas’ grown at low D/N temperatures were the most-liked, indicating that these cultivars have the highest quality ceiling, and that lower D/N growing temperatures maximize consumer liking. All instrumental measures were significant predictors for mean overall liking (Multiple Linear Regression; R 2 = 0.96), where larger size, higher firmness, brighter color, and higher SSC/TA predict average consumer acceptance across models. This study confirms the importance of cultivar and D/N temperature and demonstrates that instrumental measures can serve as a rapid screening tool.