EFFECTS OF PRE-STORAGE AT 20°C ON THE STANDARD, SENSORY AND AROMA QUALITY OF ‘BIG TOP^®‘ NECTARINES

This work assessed the effects of pre-storage at 20°C on the standard, sensory and aroma quality of ‘Big Top^®’ nectarine.
Fruits were subjected to a post-harvest, pre-storage treatment at 20°C for 0, 10, 24 or 36 hours and then stored at -0.5°C for 10, 20 and 40 days.
After cold storage, the fruits were kept at 20°C for three days to simulate retail shelf life.
Volatile compounds, sensory attributes and standard quality parameters were then determined.
Nectarine volatiles were analyzed using a dynamic headspace system with Tenax trap, automated short path thermal desorption, and CG-FID/GC-MS. The composition of volatile compounds emanating from the fruit varied both quantitatively and qualitatively with storage conditions.
Data were subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the PCA model revealed which variables best accounted for the differences observed between samples and treatments.
Fruit from the 10-hour pre-storage treatment followed by 20 days of cold storage was associated with greater flavour, juiciness and sweetness perception and higher soluble solids content than fruit from other treatments.
These fruits also exhibited the highest concentrations of butyl propanoate, butyl hexanoate, 2-methyl¬butyl 2-methylpropanoate, 2-methylbutyl 2-methylbutanoate and pentyl hexanoate.

XXVIII International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC2010): International Symposium on Postharvest Technology in the Global Market

L. López, J. Cano, G. Echeverría, G. Alins

preconditioning, cold storage, instrumental analysis, sensory evaluation, volatiles

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.934.145