Quantifying Flavor Perception in Oranges

In this project, my team and I were tasked to develop a testing procedure and design of experiments based around the measurement of a "performance metric" defined by a governing equation. We challenged ourselves to be more creative than simply measuring a coefficient of friction or the flow in a pipe (in an effort to both exceed expectations and have more fun with the project). Working with our professor, we decided to both measure a metric as well as develop the equation to define it.

We decided to measure Yumminess.

We utilized several sensors (both digital and manual) as we tested the variables we theorized contributed to the yumminess of an orange. This included the juice pH, the sugar content, and ratios relating the volume and mass to that of the full orange. After gathering all required information, each member of the team tasted the orange and provided a 'yumminess score' from 1 to 10 (there were a few oranges that maybe shouldn't have been eaten in there too). Below is the final presentation outlining the outcome and testing procedure we developed. This was accompanied by a live demo of the testing, unfortunately not captured in the slide deck (reach out to me, I'd love to talk about it!)

My opinion on the results of our testing? There is no universal equation for the yumminess of an orange. It's more of a personal thing. Who would have guessed?