Defining key parameters and predictive markers of ‘Early Bigi’ cherry consumer satisfaction by means of differential storage scenarios

To induce differences in sensorial characteristics, ‘Early Bigi’ cherries were exposed to various storage scenarios, including modified atmosphere packaging, 1-methylcyclopropene and methyl jasmonate treatments. Three classes of consumer acceptance (high, medium, and low) were defined and related to changes in standard quality, flavour perception and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions. Consumer satisfaction in ‘Early Bigi’ cherries strongly depended on the acidity levels of the fruit and how the storage scenario modulated this parameter. Multivariate data analysis also revealed a clear relationship between acidity, VOCs emissions and flavour perception that determined fruit acceptance. In this cultivar, flavour perception and consumer satisfaction were also linked to specific volatile compounds. At harvest and during the first 15 d of cold storage, consumer satisfaction was found to mainly depend on high levels of ethyl butanoate, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol and benzaldehyde and on the other side on low levels of ethyl acetate and ethanol, which were probably perceived as off-flavours or unpleasant compounds. Consumer satisfaction was also related to low levels of 2-methylbutyl butanoate, (Z)-2-hexenyl acetate, linalool and 3-methyl-2-butanol. It is, therefore, possible to envisage the use of these specific volatile compounds as markers for consumer satisfaction in ‘Early Bigi’ cherries and perhaps also in other cherry cultivars.

This work was funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (CDTI) through the national project IDI-2015885. The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Francesc Pena, who provided the fruit required to carry out this study.