Differences and Comprehensive of Color, Aroma and Taste Quality of 25 Dry Pepper Varieties

The color, aroma and taste of chili pepper powder that was produced by 25 pepper varieties for both dry and fresh fruit production were measured with modern electronic equipment such as colorimeter, electronic nose, and electronic tongue. The principal component analysis, cluster analysis and difference evaluation were carried out. The results showed that: Analysis of the color of 25 peppers displayed that the L^* of 25 chili powders was between 51.15~58.51, and the coefficient of variation was 3.19%. a^* was between 24.43~31.02, and the coefficient of variation was 6.75%. b^* was between 25.74~36.31, and the coefficient of variation was 8.69%. The chromaticity angle (H) was between 43.37~53.76, and the coefficient of variation was 5.53%. The saturation (C) was between 36.98~45.98, and the coefficient of variation was 6.39%. The main aroma difference of 25 chili powders was manifested in inorganic sulfide (W1W) and organic sulfur compounds(W2W). The main taste differences were expressed in umami, bitter and salty taste. The principal component analysis of the above evaluation indicators, the 7 main traits were combined into 3 main components-odor factor, salty factor and bitterness factor, and the 3 principal component factors contain most of the information on the color, aroma, and taste traits of 25 pepper varieties, and their cumulative contribution rate of over 86.31%. At the Euclidean distance D=14.5, 25 pepper varieties were gathered into 4 major groups, the first group’s characteristic was the highest a^* and strongest umami taste, and weakest aroma. The second group featured the strongest salty taste, high a^*, and strong umami and aroma. The third group was characterized by the highest b^*, and the minimum a^*, the weakest bitterness, and salty taste. The fourth group’s characteristic was the strongest aroma and bitterness, and the minimum b^* and weakest umami. This study would have a certain guiding significance for the establishment of the electronic evaluation system of pepper sensory quality.