Physicochemical and sensory fruit characteristics of two sweet cherry cultivars after cool storage

Physicochemical and sensory fruit characteristics were studied to assess the effects of cool storage on quality attributes of sweet cherries of the Sciazza variety, widespread in the Campania region and Ferrovia variety, marketed in Italy and abroad. The major sugar and organic acid constituents, anthocyanin composition, colour (CIE L*, a*, b*), firmness, volatile neo-formation compounds (acetaldehyde, ethanol and methanol) and sensory attributes were determined at harvest and after 15 days of fruit storage at 1 degreesC and 95% RH. The ANOVA and PCA plots showed that both cherry varieties and storage conditions affected sensory/chemical quality but the variation caused by cool storage seemed to be dependent on the varieties under study: Ferrovia cherries apparently varied less than Sciazza. The total anthocyanin and its qualitative composition were confirmed to be distinctive of the cherry varieties and important indicators of cool storage. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.