Harvest Dates of Top Scoring Varieties
Appearance vs. Taste
Varieties achieving an overall score of 6.5 or higher in two or more tastings
Harvest Periods are for Hickman, CA (Near Modesto)
MAY
5
10
15
JUNE
5
10
15
20 25
JULY
5
10
15
20 25
5
AUGUST
10
15
20 25
SEPTEMBER
5
10
15
20 25
OCTOBER
5
10
15
20 25
Flordaking
Flavor Delight
Arctic Star
Gold Dust
Sugar May
Cot-N-Candy
Flavor Supreme
June Gold
Juneglo
Snow Queen
Eva's Pride
Arctic Glo
Blenheim
Independence
Honeykist
Harko
Donut
Craigs Crimson
Double
Delight
Royal Rainier
Snow
Beauty
Utah Giant
Bing
Mericrest
Van
Splash
Southmoon
Arctic Jay
Arctic Rose
Mid Pride
Suncrest
Halehaven
15 20
25
MAY
5
10
15
20 25
JUNE
5
10
15
20 25
JULY
Average Scores by Year
acid sugar flavor overall
1993
2.943.123.45 5.98
1994
3.002.963.20 5.61
1995
3.002.983.30 5.68
1996
3.062.953.30 5.59
1997
2.853.123.38 5.76
1998
2.772.993.23 5.51
1999
2.872.913.19 5.35
2000
2.782.923.25 5.33
2001
2.762.963.14 5.27
2002
2.792.953.28 5.26
2003
2.952.983.23 5.52
2004
2.772.983.19 5.37
2005
2.843.153.37 5.74
2006
2.903.163.41 5.82
2007
3.013.173.56 6.10
2008
2.602.953.09 5.37
2009
2.892.963.25 5.45
2010
2.882.963.21 5.41
2011
2.823.213.48 6.10
2012
2.683.103.43 5.94
2013
2.783.233.50 6.09
2014
2.86 3.17 3.46
5.92
All Years 2.863.013.28 5.55
Commercial fruit breeding, production and marketing place top
priority on the appearance of fruit. In the 53 fruit tastings, if
only the most attractive 50% of fruit samples had been selected
for further evaluation (attractiveness scores of 3.6 or higher),
samples of the following would have been rejected(!): Heavenly
White, Arctic Jay, Arctic Rose, Arctic Queen and Snow Queen
white nectarines, Indian Free and Donut white peaches, Red
Baron, Eva’s Pride, Halehaven and Veteran peaches, Double
Delight, Flavortop, Juneglo, Harko and Zee Glo nectarines, Red
Fuji and Spitzenburg apples, Blenheim and Canadian White
Blenheim apricots, Comice pear, Emerald Beaut and Laroda
plums, plus Dapple Dandy, Flavor Supreme, Flavor Grenade,
Flavor Queen, Splash and Emerald Drop Pluot® interspecific
plums, all of which samples earned scores of 6.8 or higher for
overall fresh-eating quality – placing them in the top 11% of
samples tested!
Favorite Fruits
In the 53 tastings to date, 96 samples of named fruit varieties
have received scores of 7.0 or better (95th percentile). Among
this elite group 66 of the samples were either nectarines, cherries or plums/ plum hybrids. 43% of yellow nectarines, 57% of
white nectarines, 63% of Pluots®, and 46% of cherries have
earned overall scores of 6.08 or higher (in the top 1/3 of all
overall scores). By earning a disproportionate share of the top
scores these fruit types have demonstrated broad appeal among
the fruit tasters.
How do the fruit characteristics of the “Top 100 Varieties” and the “Bottom 100 Varieties”
compare to the average of all fruit tasting samples?
attractiveness firmness ripeness
Top 100
3.85
3.07
3.45
Average of all samples
3.51
3.08 3.19
Bottom 100
3.18
2.99 3.13
From the data we can see that all of the components with
the exception of Firmness played a role in the Overall scores.
Varieties with high Overall scores were rated as having above
average sugar and acid, which contribute to our perception
of flavor, and above-average texture appeal, which, for most
people, contributes to the overall enjoyment of fruit. Tasters tend to allocate high scores to varieties that have complex
character, not just sweet or tart, crunchy or soft. While some
individuals may key on those specific characteristics, in order
to have broad appeal, varieties need to excite the palate and
5
10
15
20 25
AUGUST
5
10
15
20 25
SEPTEMBER
5
10
15
texture
4.09
3.51
2.66
acid
3.00
2.86
2.29
sugar
3.77
3.00
2.05
flavor
4.28
3.27
2.06
overall
7.38
5.54
3.38
have pleasant mouth feel. Additionally, Attractiveness plays
a role in our overall perception. It sets an expectation that is
either confirmed by the eating experience, or creates surprise
when the result varies from the expectation. The Top 100
varieties rated according to our scoring system as Moderately
to Very Attractive, Fully Ripe Firm to Fully Ripe Soft, with
texture that was described as Appealing, acid that rated as
Slightly Tart, Balanced. Sugar scores were rated as Slightly
Sweet to Very Sweet, and Flavor scores that were rated as Very
Good to Rich, Intense and Superior.
20 25
OCTOBER
Top 20 Varieties 1993-2014
acid sugar flavor overall
Arctic Jay white nectarine (Z) 2.73 4.00 4.79
8.23
Flavor King Pluot® (Z)
3.10 3.90 4.40
8.10
Snow Beauty peach (Z)
2.40 4.10 4.80
7.90
Dapple Dandy Pluot® (Z)
3.20 3.90 4.50
7.90
Indian Free white peach
3.20 3.80 4.30
7.90
Snow Queen white nect. (Z)
3.13 3.87 4.50
7.87
Arctic Sweet white nect. (Z)
2.51 3.88 4.43
7.84
Flavortop nectarine (Z)
2.90 4.10 4.50
7.80
Flavor Supreme Pluot® (Z)
3.30 3.70 4.50
7.70
Van cherry
3.20 3.90 4.50
7.70
Arctic Star white nect. (Z)
2.73 3.78 4.38
7.65
Harken peach
2.78 3.65 4.18
7.51
Arctic Supreme wht. pch. (Z) 3.50 3.50 4.30
7.50
Heavenly White wht. nect. (Z) 3.10 3.70 4.10
7.50
Liz’s Late nectarine (Z)
3.50 3.80 4.70
7.50
Craig’s Crimson cherry (Z)
2.10 3.50 4.30
7.50
Emerald Drop Pluot® (Z)
3.00 3.75 4.43
7.46
August Glo nectarine (Z)
3.10 3.78 4.14
7.42
O’Henry peach
3.00 3.80 4.20
7.40
Royal Rainier cherry (Z)
3.07 3.67 4.25
7.31
(Z) Indicates Zaiger Varieties
Snow Queen Nectarine
Dapple Dandy Pluot®
Indian Free Peach
Flavor Supreme Pluot®
Craig’s Crimson Cherry
Emerald Drop Pluot®
Arctic Star Nectarine
Blenheim Apricot
Notes Regarding Published Taste Scores and Rankings
1) It is not possible to assess definitively the fresh-eating quality of a fruit variety at one tasting. The flavor and sweetness of fruits depend on
many variable factors. On the day of a tasting, some varieties may not be at peak quality.
2) Variation within a fruit sample can be a source of fluctuation in the scoring. To minimize this possibility, tasters are asked to taste two or more
samples from each fruit variety, and when they vary significantly in ripeness, to score the one that has the ripeness they would choose if they
were picking it from their own tree.
3) One of the most significant variables in fruit judging is the difference in personal preferences among tasters. For example, tasters often disagree on the appeal of sub acid fruit (fruit with little or no tartness).
4) Since different groups of tasters can have different taste preferences and different scoring tendencies, comparisons of scores from one tasting
to another are not strictly valid. After many tastings, however, such variations in scoring should even out.
5) Obviously, the data in this report is preliminary and incomplete. The list of varieties tested is not comprehensive for all fruit types nor is it
complete for any of the specific fruit types tested. The various summaries and lists are relative only to fruit varieties tested, not to the entire
spectrum of contemporary tree fruits.
Weeping Santa Rosa Plum
June Pride Peach
Black Jack Fig
Scoring System
Master Fruit Taster™ Award Recipients
Nursery Industry
Almaden Valley Nursery
Matt Lepow
Armstrong Gardens
Chris Greenwood
Armstrong Gardens
Leah Greenwood
Armstrong Gardens
Liz Greenwood
Bay Laurel Nursery
Jim Patterson
Bay Laurel Nursery
Kristie Wells
Bay Laurel Nursery
Marcia Guelff
Berkeley Hort. Nursery
Ann Ralph
C&W Nursery
Steve Campbell
Cal Poly Pomona
Shaun Overstreet
CANGC
Steve List
Capital Nursery
Ken Brizzi
Certified Consulting Arborist
Kurt Peacock
Dale Hardware
MJ Penovich
Dinuba Garden Center
Jose Garcia
Donlen Nursery
Darlene Donlen
Donlen Nursery
Elicia James
East Bay Nursery
Doris Roth
East Bay Nursery
Jose Iniguez
Eisley’s Nursery
Earlene Freeman
Four Winds Growers Ed Laivo
Front Yard Nursery
Kristie Lamb
Front Yard Nursery
Sandy Hendricks
Hodges Nursery
Ken Hodge
Johnson Garden Center
Kelley Corbett
Jon’s Nursery
Jon Freeman-Wood
Mc Shane’s Nursery
Steve Mcshane
Mid City Nursery
Jake Mikolajic
Regan Nursery
Victoria Evanoff
Roger Reynolds
Mary Walcher
Roger Reynolds
Nikki Karimzad
Scenic Nursery
Colette Hull
Sierra Nursery & Rock
Janet Simkins
Sonoma Mission Gardens
Lydia Constantini
Summer Winds Nursery
Brian Hjelmstad
The Greenery
George Schumacher
The Greenery
Jay Degraff
The Greenery
Patty Ekenberg
Tree People
Steve Hofvendahl
Univ Ca Coop Ext Nancy Garrison
Univ Ca Coop Ext. Riverside
Tom Shea
Urban Tree Farm
Travis Woodard
Vanwinden’s Pueblo Gdn.
Peter Van Winden
Western Sierra Nursery
Robyn Holland
Western Sierra Nursery
Mark Holland
West Side Nursery
Chris Sullivan
Yamagami’s Nursery
Carolyn Villa-Scott
Yamagami’s Nursery
Cindi Felde-Ricca
Yamagami’s Nursery
Rus Scott
California Rare Fruit Growers
Andrew Mariani
Carol Scott
Charles Allen
Choung Crowe
David Maislen
David Payton
Debbie Sortomme
Dick Potratz
Don Gholston
Don Johnson
Doreen Wendell
Eph Konigsberg
George Quesada
Gretchen Sanders
Jerry Sortomme
Jim Neitzel
Joan Maislen
John Crowe
John Long
Karen Payton
Kit Long
Larry Hollis
Larry Shore
Jill Sabol
Joe Sabol
Lyle Overley
Marv Daniels
Michael Zarkey
Paul Guy
Pet Daniels
Phoebe Liebig
Robert Scott
Thomas Pope
W. Karl Gross
Nino Cupaiuolo
Paul Fisher
Radio Personalities
KSRO Radio
KSRO Radio
KSTE Radio
KSTE Radio
Donut Peach
Beverly Tanem
Bob Tanem
Fred Hoffman
Jeanne Hoffman
Master Gardeners
Barbara Lauck
Bettina Gotti
Carole Maertweiler
John G. Ernsberger
Mike Maertzweiler
Shelly Wardrop
Tom Savio
William D. Hollins
Winnie Wu
Yvonne Savio
Talk with people who know what it’s like to eat
it fresh from the tree! Just click the Master Fruit
Taster symbol when you see it next to the name of
a local retail nursery on www.davewilson.com
EXTERIOR ATTRACTIVENESS
5 extraordinarily attractive
4 very attractive
3 moderately attractive
2 not especially attractive
1 ugly
FIRMNESS
5 very hard
4 hard
3 firm
2 soft
1 very soft
RIPENESS
5 too ripe, past peak quality
4 fully ripe, soft
3 fully ripe, firm
2 not quite fully ripe
1 not ripe
TEXTURE
5 especially appealing
4 appealing
3 not notable one way or another
2 slightly disagreeable
1 very disagreeable
ACID
5 too tart, sour
4 tart
3 slightly tart, balanced
2 not tart, but enjoyable
1 not tart, bland
SUGAR
5 too sweet
4 very sweet
3 slightly sweet
2 not especially sweet
1 lacks sweetness, needs more
FLAVOR
5 rich, intense, superior
4 very good
3 average
2 somewhat lacking, mild
1 absent or disagreeable
OVERALL
9 have never had better
8 excellent, outstanding
7 very good, well above average
6 good above average
5 acceptable, average
4 below å
3 mediocre, barely worthwhile
2 poor, not suitable for fresh use
1 atrocious
2014 Fruit Tasting Report © 2014 Dave Wilson Nursery 95323. Pluot®, Aprium®
& NectaPlum® are registered trademarks of Zaiger Inc. Genetics, Modesto, CA.