Abstract This work aims to study the effect of different drying air conditions on the drying rate and milling quality of a Uruguayan long-grain rice variety. It was observed that increasing the drying air temperature or lowering the drying air relative humidity decreased the milling quality. At temperatures above glass transition, this effect was greater. However, it was possible to dry the rice at a drying rate of up to 3 percentage points of moisture per hour (on a dry basis) maintaining a high milling quality. This was achieved when a 1-hour tempering was performed after drying. At higher drying rates, the milling quality decreased sharply even when tempering was performed. These results aim to contribute to the understanding of the drying process, allowing its optimization by increasing the drying rate without losing milling quality.

Resumen: El mejoramiento genético en plantas tradicionalmente se centró en aumentar el rendimiento, la tolerancia a plagas, la firmeza y el comportamiento postcosecha, combinando la adaptación a un ambiente determinado con el manejo agronómico, sin evaluar en detalle las características sensoriales del producto. En este sentido, la incorporación de información sensorial en los programas de mejoramiento genético provee de herramientas objetivas para evaluar científicamente lo que de otra forma serían pruebas subjetivas. La combinación de las preferencias del consumidor con información descriptiva de las características sensoriales del producto, puede contribuir a la mejora de diferente commodities impulsada por los consumidores. En este contexto, el objetivo de esta revisión es describir una serie de experiencias exitosas en donde la aplicación de la evaluación sensorial contribuyó a los programas de mejoramiento genético de forma de desarrollar cultivares con una mejora sensorial y una mayor probabilidad de tener éxito en el mercado. Se presenta y discute la aplicación de pruebas analíticas y hedónicas haciendo especial énfasis en frutas y hortalizas, con foco en frutilla y bonito, dada la relevancia de la aceptabilidad del producto en el aumento del consumo de este tipo de productos. Se discute la aplicación de esta herramienta en arroz, un cereal ampliamente consumido en el mundo y en donde los métodos de cocción añaden un especial desafío en el contexto de la evaluación sensorial.

Summary: Traditionally, plant breeding goals have focused on increasing yield, product firmness, shelf life and pest tolerance, combining ambient adaptation and agronomic management, without making focus on the sensory characteristics. The addition of sensory information into plant breeding programs provides breeders with unbiased tools to measure otherwise subjective quality traits. Combining consumer preferences with descriptive information about the sensory characteristics of products can contribute to the development of consumer-driven improvements in diverse agronomical commodities. In this context, the objective of this review is to describe a series of successful experiences where sensory evaluation has contributed to breeding programs in order to develop cultivars with enhanced sensory characteristics and higher likelihood of succeeding in the marketplace. The application of analytic and hedonic tests are described and discussed. A special consideration is made into fruit and vegetables examples, with focus on strawberry and sweet potato, considering the relevance of consumer acceptance in rising consumption of these products. Rice is also showed as an example of a cereal widely consumed worldwide and where cooking methods display a special challenge in sensory evaluation.