Authors: Baldwin, Elizabeth A.; Plotto, Anne; Goodner, Kevin

Source: Stewart Postharvest Review, Volume 3, Number 1, February 2007 , pp. 1-10(10)

Publisher: Stewart Postharvest Solutions

Abstract:

Purpose of review: This review highlights progress made in the recent past in understanding the flavour quality of fruits and vegetables, how it is perceived, how to evaluate this trait, and how it is affected by harvest maturity and postharvest handling.

Recent findings: The field of flavour chemistry and sensory science is rapidly evolving in terms of new detection technology, refinement of sensory techniques and understanding human perception of flavour, as well as relating sensory to instrumental data. This is especially true for fruit and vegetable flavour and needs to be taken into consideration when determining shelf-life and evaluating quality of fresh produce.

Limitations: Flavour is a complex trait comprised of many variables including sugars, acids, volatiles and other compounds and, thus, is difficult to evaluate both chemically and in terms of sensory perception. The relationship between chemical and sensory data is also sometimes difficult to interpret.

Directions of future research: The individual contributions of flavour compounds and their interactions in terms of the overall flavour quality of fresh produce needs to be determined for many important horticultural crops. The effect of harvest maturity, handling, storage temperature and shelf-life duration needs to be evaluated for flavour quality shelf-life, which may be shorter than appearance shelflife for many commodities.

Keywords: FRUIT; VEGETABLE; FLAVOUR; SUGARS; ACIDS; VOLATILES; SENSORY

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2212/spr.2007.1.3

Publication date: 2007-02-01

More about this publication?

• Stewart Postharvest Review is published bi-monthly and covers a wide range of topics in various areas of postharvest biology and technology.
  
  Stewart Postharvest Solutions is pleased to offer you a Free Trial to Stewart Postharvest Review. Individuals receive a free 30 day trial and institutions receive a free 3 month trial to Stewart Postharvest Review - Access to volume 2 only
  
  To take advantage of this offer just sign in with your administrator details and click on the "Sign up for a free trial" link below.
• Editorial Board
• Information for Authors
• Terms & Conditions
• ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Botany ,  Chemistry
• By this author: Baldwin, Elizabeth A. ;  Plotto, Anne ;  Goodner, Kevin

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers