Physicochemical and functional differentiation of dessert and cooking banana during ripening-a key for understanding consumer preferences

The commercial success of a given dessert or cooking banana cultivar depends on its acceptability to consumers and/or processors in the food chain. Unsuccessful commercial attempts at cultivar adoption or the use of new processes may be due to the limited consideration given to consumer preferences (food socioeconomics) during cultivar development or processing. This study presents the collaborative investigations carried out at CIRAD and CIAT to differentiate between cultivars, genetic groups or consumption groups (dessert and cooking). The statistical tests carried out highlighted the most suitable consumption mode for an unknown cultivar at various stages of ripeness according to the following traits: morphology-bunch shape and weight, finger size, diameter and weight, pulp to peel ratio; physicochemical composition of the pulp-dry matter content, texture, pH, titratable acidity, ash and mineral content, soluble solids, starch, sugar and organic acid content, flavor; functional properties of Musa starch and flour by RVA and DSC-pasting temperature, cooking ability, peak viscosity, onset temperature, gelatinization enthalpy, and amylose content. The adoption of cultivars by stakeholders, including users, can be predicted; breeding strategies can be revised, based on objective quality attributes, and the optimum combination of cultivars, at a given ripening stage and process, can be selected for agro-industrial uses.