A trained panel was utilized initially to identify the key sensory attributes and differences in carrot particulates rehydrated for different times of up to 240 s. Key attributes were selected and utilized in a subsequent consumer study that included 70 participants. The consumer study included two commercial carrot particulates (air-dried, AD; vacuum-puffed-dried, VPD), used regularly in ready-to-eat soups. VPD carrots showed a higher overall acceptability than its AD counterpart. The AD samples were found significantly harder than the VPD carrots for all the times tested. Rehydration time had a significant effect only on the overall acceptability of the AD samples. Overall acceptability of AD samples was scored significantly lower mainly due to hardness. The differences were also associated with the dissimilar conditions during drying, resulting in different physical properties and water uptake during the rehydration process. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.