Changes in ascorbic acid content in fresh cut sicilian yellow-flesh peaches.

Abstract

The traditional yellow-flesh peach cultivars 'Settembrina' and 'Ottobrina' di Leonforte ripen respectively during the first 10 days of September, and the first 10 days of November, in Sicily, Italy. During pit hardening, fruit are covered with a paper bag in order to protect them from Mediterranean fruit fly. To understand their behaviour in terms of postharvest maintenance and suitability for minimal processing, 'Settembrina' and 'Ottobrina' di Leonforte were processed (i.e., cleaned, washed, peeled, cut, dipped and packed) to obtain fresh-cut peaches. Fresh cut slices were stored in perforated or bi-oriented polystyrene bags, after soaking in either a 2% ascorbic acid and 1% calcium lactate solution or 1% ascorbic acid, 0.5% citric acid and 1% calcium lactate solution. Physical, chemical and sensory analyses were performed during 12 days storage at 5°C. Results showed a high variability among varieties in sensory quality, susceptibility to browning, and to mechanical damage, and in the effect of dipping solution to preserve vitamin C content. In particular, in both varieties treatment with ascorbic acid at a concentration of 2% showed the best results in terms of ascorbic acid content after 12 days of refrigerated storage.