Evaluation of Taste Quality of Tomato Paste Prepared from Different Tomato Varieties by Electronic Tongue

Taste profile of tomato paste prepared from twenty different tomato varieties was tested using electronic tongue combined with multivariate statistical analysis methods,including principal component analysis,cluster analysis and discriminant factor analysis. The results showed that,the overall taste quality of tomato paste prepared from different varieties were significantly different and the taste characteristics of Xinfan 40 was significantly different from those of other varieties through principal component analysis and cluster analysis. The bitterness,astringency and saltiness of late-maturing varieties were significantly higher than those of early-maturing varieties(P<0.05),all of which(Tunhe 33,Xinfan 36,Xinfan 45,Ligeer 87-5)were gathered in the first cluster. Through discriminant factor analysis,different varieties(Shifan,Hengshi,Xinfan,IVF)could be completely distinguished,and the total contribution rate of the two discriminants reached 96.1%. Therefore,electronic tongue,as a new type of modern intelligent sensory instrument,could be regarded as a potential method to distinguish tomato paste prepared from different tomatos with different maturity and sources.