Electronic nose based investigation of the sensorial properties of peachesand nectarines

Quality of fruit is traditionally associated with the physical characterist ics, such as surface colour, shape, and firmness. Although, it is well know n that the aroma is also associated with the ripening processes, this featu re 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 s tage, 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 s ensory analysis, fruits have not been extensively studied and a complete an d detailed description of the aroma components is not well established. In this paper, an electronic nose and a sensory panel are considered togeth er in order to study the sensorial properties of a number of peaches and ne ctarines. Fruits were divided into four classes; each composed of several c ultivars. The research is aimed at evaluating the sensorial features typica l of each class. This work represents a first attempt toward the definition of a sensorial p rofile for these fruits, and it can be considered a further proof of the fr uitful interactions between natural olfaction and electronic nose. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.