Texture phenotyping in fresh fleshy fruit

• The flesh firmness is a single point of the stress/strain curve, which is a complex function.
• The assessment of texture in fleshy fruit allows a much deeper phenotyping.
• The rheological and sensory evaluations should be integrated to get a better phenotyping.

After the visual appearance, the texture of fresh fleshy fruit (FFF) is the most relevant factor that determines its acceptability. Therefore, texture should be a priority on fruit quality research. Sensory evaluation and rheological analysis have been the classical approaches used to study texture of foods. However, the relevance of texture on describing a FFF has normally been underestimated. The flesh firmness instead has been the most commonly assessed trait in most researches on fruit quality. Even though flesh firmness is a relevant component of texture, it does not help for segregating two samples possessing different textures. A deeper study of texture on FFF would allow us to discover and to annotate new phenotypic attributes. These data will help to reduce the imbalance between the scarce data obtained through traditional phenotyping and the huge amount of data obtained via high output genotyping platforms. The aim of this review was to analyze critically the literature concerning sensory evaluation and the rheological studies on FFF, looking to reach a better comprehension of texture, and consequently to reach a deeper characterization of phenotypes in genetic and descriptive studies on FFF species.