ABSTRACT

‘Isabel’ grape juice has color deficiency and an alternative is the use of abscisic acid to increase the color. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of consumers, through sensory analysis, of ‘Isabel’ grape juice treated with abscisic acid in different concentrations and times; the juices were obtained in two seasons (2011 and 2012). A randomized block design was used as statistical model with four replications and five treatments: Control, S-ABA 200 mg L^-1 applied seven days after veraison (DAV), S-ABA 400 mg L^-1, seven DAV; S-ABA 200 mg L^-1, seven DAV + 200 mg L^-1, 15 days after the first application (DAFA) and S-ABA 400 mg L-1, seven DAV + 400 mg L^-1, 15 DAFA. The juices were obtained by the ‘Welch’ process by steam entrainment. For juice sensory evaluation, a panel of 70 judges evaluated the following attributes: color, aroma, flavor, body and overall acceptability using a hedonic scale of nine points. It was concluded that all juices of ‘Isabel’ grape treated with S-ABA showed greater acceptance by consumers regarding all attributes evaluated, and the concentration 400 mg L-1 in a single application at seven DAV is enough to provide these results.

Index terms
Vitis labrusca; Juice color; Acceptance testing; Anthocyanins