Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality (Dec 2012)
Diversity and dynamic of sensory related traits in different apple cultivars
Abstract
Unquestionably the sensory quality is one of the most important quality traits of apple. On globalised markets any newly bred apple cultivar must be characterised by excellent eating quality. But flavour generally is a very difficult criterion in the breeding process. To establish a quality assessment system including the sensory profile which is usable as selection tool altogether 15 cultivars, standard types and new bred, resistent varieties, were examinated to evaluate altogether 52 quality determining parameters. The results show the high diversity of sensory traits especially the aroma patterns in cultivars. Within the 15 samples cultivars can be distinguished with aroma profiles dominated by esters or alcohols (aroma types). The aroma types can alter between harvest time and optimal eating quality. Regarding the aroma profile a more powerful influence of the cultivar than those of the harvest year was measured.