Variability of sensory profile and quality characteristics for ‘Pesca di Bivona’ and ‘Pesca di Leonforte’ peach (Prunus persica Batsch) fresh-cut slices during storage

Abstract

Peach genotypes in Southern Italy include the white-flesh ‘Pesca di Bivona’ (‘Murtiddara’, ‘Bianca’, ‘Agostina’ and ‘Settembrina’) and the yellow-flesh ‘Pesca di Leonforte’ (‘Settembrina’, ‘Giallone’ and ‘Ottobrina’) landraces, with non-melting clingstone fruit, characterized by a persistent aroma and an excellent flavor that is highly appreciated by consumers. The aim of this work was to assess the suitability of these white- and yellow-flesh landraces to be processed as fresh-cut product with regard to the persistence of their quality and sensory profiles. Fruit of ‘Pesca di Bivona’ and ‘Pesca di Leonforte’ landraces were cut into slices and stored at 5 C for 3, 5, 7, 12 d. Fresh-cut slices’ color (L*, B-index, DE, Croma and Hue) appearance, crunchiness, ascorbic acid and phenolics content were measured and sensory profiles were evaluated at each sampling date, together with CO2 content in the package. The yellow-flesh ‘Settembrina di Leonforte’ and the white-flesh ‘Settembrina di Bivona’ had the best visual score during the storage period, accompanied by the lowest degree of the browning index and the highest scores of all sensory descriptors at each sampling date. The browning index and the hedonic evaluation of flesh firmness were the best markers of fresh-cut quality, being highly correlated to the visual score and overall liking. The overall liking of the fresh-cut slices was correlated to the visual score and the flesh firmness in both white-flesh and yellow-flesh landraces.