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BACKGROUND: Artichoke is a rich source of bioactive compounds, mainly phenols, in the Mediterranean diet, but its consumption is limited by the complexity of time-consuming trimming operations. Fresh-cut processing would therefore add convenience to its consumption, even though the severity of post-cutting browning of artichoke pieces is still a major problem. Since susceptibility to browning may vary widely among genotypes, the choice of the cultivar is a very critical step in the fresh-cut process. In this study, five different Italian cultivars (C3, Catanese, Tema, Violetto Foggiano and Violetto Sardo) were screened for their initial quality and composition, and their post-cutting performance during storage at 5• C and 20 • C.

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The study of the suitability of potato cultivars to be processed as fresh-cut is the first step to obtain a fresh-cut product of high quality. In this study, 4 different early potato cultivars ('Ariana', 'Liseta', 'Safrane' and 'Spunta') were cut and stored for 8 days at 5°C and for 6 days at 20°C with the aim to investigate their browning potential and their postcutting performance on the basis of their initial quality attributes such as color, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, total phenolics, ascorbic acid contents, sugar composition and antioxidant activity (AOX). In addition, color changes and general appearance were monitored during storage, and a study of the correlations among monitored parameters was carried out. Results showed that 'Safrane' had the least color changes and browning incidence. At 5°C, 'Safrane' showed only about 1% variation in L*, statistically lower than 'Spunta' (3.6%) and 'Ariana' (5.1%), and presented the lowest variation in a* value (about 50% vs. 70% for all other cultivars). At 20°C, 'Safrane' and 'Liseta' showed a lower decrease in L* (5.6 and 6.2%, respectively) and ΔE values, (6.0 and 6.1%, respectively), but 'Spunta' and 'Ariana' were the cultivars with the highest decrease in these parameters. 'Safrane' also received the highest appearance score during the first days of storage at both storage temperatures, and had a high ascorbic acid content (31.2 mg/100 g fw) and antioxidant activity (26.6 mg TE/100 g fw). 'Liseta' and 'Ariana' showed intermediate potential in terms of storability and appearance, while 'Spunta' was the least suitable to be used as fresh-cut.