SENSORY, CHEMICAL AND GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF 5 RASPBERRY CULTIVARS

Five raspberry cultivars, 'Chilcotin', 'Chilliwack', 'Meeker', 'Skeena ' and 'Tulameen', were evaluated for sensory attributes, and chemical and flavor volatile compounds. 'Chilliwack' and 'Tulameen' received hi gh ratings in sweetness and overall impression with high soluble solid s, total sugars and sugar:acid ratio. 'Chilcotin' rated low in overall impression and sweetness, and high in sourness and astringency, with low soluble solids, sugar:acid ratio and total sugars, and high titrat able acidity. Principal factor analysis (PFA) of the sensory results s eparated the cultivars based on desirable (appearance, color, texture, aroma and sweetness) and less desirable (sourness, bitterness, astrin gency and off-flavor) attributes. Twenty-eight volatile compounds were analyzed by dynamic headspace and 18 identified by gas chromatography -mass spectrometry (GC-MS), most of which were terpenes which included alpha-pinene, sabinene, gamma-terpinene, alpha- and beta-ionone and c aryophyllene. Volatile compounds varied among cultivars, with benzalde hyde (11-1-31-8%), a-pinene (4.0-11.5%), ethyl heptanoate (6.9-15.2%), beta-myrcene (13.2-19.6%) and gamma-terpinene (12.2-20.0%) as the pre dominant volatiles. Correlation analysis established no relationships between sensory and chemical data with volatile compounds.