Persimmons & Prickly pear

"Sensory evaluation is a scientific discipline that analyses and measures human responses to the composition of food and drink, e.g. appearance, touch, odour, texture, temperature and taste."

- Food a fact of life. (2015, September 28). Retrieved October 4, 2015, from http://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/sheet.aspx?siteId=19§ionId=83&contentId=308

For my sensory evaluation, I decided that I would experiment with two different types of fruits grown worldwide.

Choosing the fruits

One afternoon while strolling down Queen Street West I noticed a small family owned market, so I walked in. While looking around, I noticed the market endured a large variety of different exotic fruits that I had personally never encountered before. After a short glance around, I quickly decided on two fruits that contrasted quite greatly with one another. While putting the fruits in two separate bags, I walked up to the cashier and asked the name of each produce that I held in both hands. In response, the pleasant man said: "Well dear, that orange tomato looking fruit is called a persimmon. A fruit mainly produced in both Japan and the United states, but from my understanding originated from Japan. Now that green spiked fruit you also have is called a prickly pear, a fruit known to grow mainly in South America, Mexico, and the United states."

When I decided on these two diverse looking fruits, I hoped to inquire very different levels within the sensory scale.

In result I had an array of multiple scents, textures and of course tastes that affected my senses immensely in very contrasting ways.

Persimmon

The first fruit that I decided to try, it was the persimmon. When observing the fruit first hand I almost thought it was a tomato because of the look and the contour of the exterior. A persimmon tends to be almost a luminous circular fruit, with a glossy orange exterior. Its shape holds just like a regular tomato, but with a little more luster than one. When I picked up the polished sphere to experience the texture by hand, I discovered that the nature of the fruit was smooth and almost polished like. I brought the fruit up towards my nose to see if it had any scent on its outer layer and detected no smell at all, so I put it down and began to cut.

The song "Burning it down" by Jason Alden played in the background while cutting the persimmon into quarters. As I cut I noticed that the

persimmon included natural layers within. Consistently throughout, the fruit sustained only the colour orange. The outer skin was firm and dark, followed by a light and more peachy tone and the middle was both a vibrant and translating orange. When I finally finished my cuts I brought a slice up toward my nostrils to examine the aroma more profoundly and managed to obtain a strong scent of a fresh cut of a pumpkin. In result this made the scent seem very dry and dull. Shortly after the examination of the scent, I decided to take a bite. My taste buds were completely taken off guard because of the scent; I was not expecting such a sweet subtle taste. Instantly the flavouring of the persimmon reminded me more of a mango, but the texture differentiated from a mango. The structure while chewing was softer and almost creamy. When eating the persimmon, I ate it just like you would an orange. I bit towards the toughest layer of skin pulling the fruit between my teeth, enduring a syrupy, mushy feeling. I think because of the contrast between both the flavour and the smell of the persimmon, it made the fruit quite unique. The scents and the flavours differentiated greatly, making both senses almost parallel.

In result of my experience with this new fruit I discovered that my palate gravitates towards a sweeter side, which I was quiet pleased with. The essence and sweetness in the aftertaste of the fruit, made me quiet delighted and intrigued with questioning the relation to other tastes that I have encountered. Though a persimmon would not be a fruit that I would eat daily, or even weekly I would try it again. I think because of the foreign taste to the exotic fruit, it threw my palate off a bit making me question if it was a taste I fully enjoyed. After this experience, it has influenced the way I analyze of a product immensely. Impacting the way I understand and feel about a product. Now when tasting any food or spice I think about the five basics flavourings.

Prickly pear

The second fruit that I decided I would try was a prickly pear. When examining the prickly pear first hand, I noticed the dark lush green colour the outer skin endured. The pear was an oval shaped that acquired quite exquisite attributes such as miniature brown spikes. The prickles were placed upon the outer shell were almost equally scattered, giving the illusion of a pattern across the exotic fruit. The prickly pear gave off a certain look, like a rough artistic produce crafted by nature itself. I began to pick up the fruit to feel the skins texture and between my fingers I felt a soft, dull, and spiky tough shell.

As I brought the fruit up towards my nostrils to smell, the outside of the fruit had almost a dry bitter scent that I couldn't quiet put my finger on. While hearing both my parents talking in the background, I went on to taste the fruit. Since I was so unfamiliar with the prickly pear, I decided to watch a short YouTube video on how to cut the pear properly. In result I cut both ends equally exposing the fruits first layers. The pear then presented a blazing translucent red colour, surrounded by a thick dark green layer. It honestly had to be the most vibrant red that I've ever encountered within a fruit. From then on, I began cutting the fruit in half, exposing the electrifying candied red interior some more. Now that the fruit was cut in two I explored the smell further. I finally fully understood the scent that I inhaled originally. The smell of the inside of a banana peel, the best description I could put my finger on.

After removing the skin from the edible insides I put the flesh between my fingers. It had an almost grainy and flimsy texture, with seeds that intertwined within. The prickly pear had a bright delicate flesh that fell apart when applied with too much pressure. I put the fruit into my mouth with the anticipation of a much more sugared taste. Then instead, I experienced a dull, tart and bitter taste. Perhaps even tasting like a very bland version of a watermelon. When chewing the inside flesh it seemed to dissolve at every bite, giving off the texture of baby food. The fruit almost had an 'earthy' tone and essentially endured no flavour. To top it off, the flesh was full of hard shelled seeds making it almost inedible. Truly this experience was one that I could have lived without.

In my opinion the exotic exterior and ever so glistering interior made this fruit very unique. The radiant colour within to the texture of the spikes across the vigorous oval shell was an experience I’ve never encountered before. After eating this fruit I came to the conclusion that my palate almost prefers a finer, creamier texture that has more complicity within its flavours. Rather than having a food that is one noted, bitter and grainy. As I stated before I didn't enjoy this fruit and I do not see myself eating it again because the fruit was so difficult to eat. After I analyzed this fruit I have learned to describe textures and tastes in a vast amount of varieties, benefitting towards both my understanding the explanation of a fruit to the experience that I endure. Therefore helping me reconize how certain flavours may or may not work together while cooking.

And with that said.......

Let the sensory evaluations begin, again, and again!

Information used for persimmons

Persimmons YouTube URL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_IzvMK_wLk

How to cut a persimmons

http://www.wikihow.com/Eat-a-Persimmon

Information used for Cactus pear ( prickley pear )

Cactus pear YouTube URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJpW_j1EYTY

Names for a prickley pear (cactus fruit) http://www.desertusa.com/cactus/prickly-pear-cactus.html

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