Goldenberg, L., Dept. of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, ARO, the Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel, Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
Yaniv, Y., Dept. of Fruit Tree Crops, ARO, the Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Kaplunov, T., Dept. of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, ARO, the Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Doron-Faigenboim, A., Dept. of Fruit Tree Crops, ARO, the Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Carmi, N., Dept. of Fruit Tree Crops, ARO, the Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Porat, R., Dept. of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, ARO, the Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel

We evaluated the sensory quality of 42 mandarin varieties that belong to 7 different natural subgroups: common mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco), Clementine (Citrus clementina Hort. ex. Tan), Satsuma (Citrus unshiu Marcovitch), Mediterranean mandarin (Citrus deliciosa Tenore), King mandarin (Citrus nobilis Loureiro), and mandarin hybrids, such as tangor (Citrus reticulata × Citrus sinensis) and tangelo (Citrus reticulata × Citrus paradisi). Consumer flavor acceptance tests revealed wide diversity in flavor preferences among mandarin varieties and subgroups. Furthermore, descriptive flavor-analysis tests conducted with the aid of a trained sensory panel revealed that the 9 most preferred varieties had similar flavor profiles, characterized by high sweetness, moderate to low acidity levels, low bitterness and gumminess, strong fruity and mandarin flavor, and high juiciness. The average total soluble solids (TSS) and acidity levels among the highly preferred varieties were 13.1% and 1.1%, respectively. In contrast, the 8 least preferred varieties were either too sour or gummy or had low levels of sweetness, fruity, or mandarin flavor, and either high acidity levels (>1.4%) or low TSS levels (<12.0%). Pearson tests revealed significant positive correlations between flavor acceptance and perceptions of sweetness, fruitiness, and mandarin flavor, and negative correlations with acidity levels and perceptions of sourness, bitterness, and gumminess. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®.