Résumé
The study was conducted in Kwara and Kano States in Nigeria, among 129 consumers of which 49 were women and 80 men. In Kwara, six sweetpotato varieties were evaluated namely; Alausa, Aragbe, Tomude, Elege, Pakurumon and Mother's Delight while in Kano they were seven namely; Dan Izala, Dan China, Dan Barmawa, Dan Madagali, Dan Silver, Mother's Delight and Dan Bakalori. Data were collected on consumer demographics, consumer attitudes and sensory tests (Hedonic/Overall liking, Just About Right (JAR) and Check All That Apply (CATA). Demographic data showed that Kwara had slightly more women (51%) than men (49%) whereas Kano had significantly more men (78%) than women (22%). Consumers in Kwara were mostly of the Yoruba ethnic group (91%) while those in Kano were Hausa (92%). In both regions, they were mostly Muslims and married. Consumers were a balanced mix of youth, middle aged and elderly in both Kwara and Kano. Those in Kwara had secondary education (30%) and were mostly traders (41%) while in Kano more consumers had tertiary education (32%) and were salary workers (31%). Fried sweetpotato was consumed 2-3 times a week and, with pepper in both Kwara and Kano. In Kwara, fried sweetpotato from Alausa (7.7) and Aragbe (7.5) were most liked and were significantly different from the least liked Mother's Delight (6.2) while in Kano all the fried sweetpotato samples were liked and the overall liking scores were not significantly different. All the fried sweetpotato samples in Kwara and Kano were scored JAR by more than 50% of consumers for crispiness, mealiness, colour, sugariness and flavour. Regarding CATA, the most cited characteristics (>100 citations) in both regions were: 'Good smell', 'Good taste', 'Satisfying', 'Yellow', 'Filling Soft', 'Dry', 'Crispy', 'Light brown colour', and 'Less sugary'. Mapping of sensory characteristics by Principal Component Analysis in Kwara showed that the most preferred Alausa fried sweetpotato was linked with 'Filling', 'Satisfying', 'Dry', 'Good smell', 'Crispy' and 'Yellow'. The study showed that breeders need to take into consideration differences in preference by different end-users and gender in an effort to enhance adoption and utilisation of sweetpotato varieties.