Sensory analysis of three preservation methods of the Tenquique mushroom in comparison to the fresh product

Abstract

In El Salvador you enjoy a very special food; in the co-ffee-growing areas of the western region, a culinary de-licacy is found in the trunks of the Guachipilín tree in winter, the wild mushroom Tenquique (Pseudofistulina brasiliensis).A test was carried out through a Sensory Analysis, in order to find if there was a difference or not in the basic organoleptic characteristics of the fresh tenquique mushroom, compared to three traditional conservation methods (freezing, dehydration and brine) applied to this fungus. The results showed that the sensory cha-racteristics of the mushroom preserved in brine were the ones that most closely resembled those of the fresh tenquique, the tenquique, when preserved by freezing, was the treatment that held the greatest acceptance, surpassing the other treatments, even the fresh ten-quique; however, it was the one that most distorted its results when compared to fresh tenquique. In the case of the dehydrated mushroom, after having undergone a rehydration process, it also turned out to be a viable option for the conservation of Tenquique, its results re-sembling the best evaluated of all treatments. Therefo-re, it is concluded that a good method to conserve the Tenquique fungus according to the results of the analy-sis of variance by the DMS and Sheffé test was freezing, but if it is desired that the sensory characteristics of the fungus resemble those of fresh tenquique, recommends the brine.