Electronic nose based investigation of the sensorial properties of peaches and nectarines

Quality of fruit is traditionally associated with the physical characteristics, such as surface colour, shape, and firmness. Although, it is well known that the aroma is also associated with the ripening processes, this feature never resulted in any practical instrumentation due to the complexity of the aroma analysis. Over the past years, electronic nose technology opened the possibility to exploit information on aroma to assess fruit ripening stage, and more generally, fruit quality. In order to match the instrumental analysis with the consumer requirements, a sensorial profile of the fruit is necessary. From the point of view of sensory analysis, fruits have not been extensively studied and a complete and detailed description of the aroma components is not well established. In this paper, an electronic nose and a sensory panel are considered together in order to study the sensorial properties of a number of peaches and nectarines. Fruits were divided into four classes; each composed of several cultivars. The research is aimed at evaluating the sensorial features typical of each class. This work represents a first attempt toward the definition of a sensorial profile for these fruits, and it can be considered a further proof of the fruitful interactions between natural olfaction and electronic nose. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.