ASHS 2025 Conference

Black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) is a native nut species valued for its richness and nutritional profile, but its intense flavor can limit broader consumer appeal. To better understand sensory preferences, a consumer taste panel evaluated kernel flavor, texture, and overall kernel liking across eight cultivated walnut genotypes. Seven black walnut genotypes (HS, DL, HY, BW1, BW2, BW3, and BW4) and two English walnut (Juglans regia L.) samples were tested. One English walnut sample was standardized as the first sample, and the remaining samples were randomized in a William’s Latin Square design. One hundred participants rated these genotypes for overall kernel liking, flavor intensity, texture, aroma, and the intensity of specific flavors (e.g., bitter, walnut, nut, off flavors, woody). Welch's ANOVA and Games-Howell post hoc tests identified differences between genotypes for all attributes. All black walnuts differed significantly (p < 0.01) from English walnut in panelists’ ratings of overall kernel liking and flavor liking attributes. However, only HS did not significantly differ from English walnut in aroma liking. Principal component analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between overall liking and attributes such as flavor liking, texture liking, and aroma liking, and a negative correlation with perceived off-flavor and bitterness intensities. Regression analysis confirmed these findings and indicated that a unit increase in flavor liking was associated with a 0.74 unit increase in overall kernel liking. Conversely, a unit increase in off-flavor intensity resulted in a 0.056 unit decrease in overall kernel liking. Several accessions appear as promising candidates for cultivar development, supporting opportunities to expand consumer acceptance and the market potential of this underutilized native crop through targeted flavor improvement.