Application of a sensory–instrumental tool to study apple texture characteristics shaped by altitude and time of harvest

Abstract

We demonstrated that differences between fruit from various altitudes can be perceived through human senses, and that the proposed sensory-instrumental tool can be used to describe such differences. This study brings more understanding about the impact of altitude and time of harvest on apple sensory properties. This work could support apple producers, from semi-mountainous regions (Alps, Tyrol, etc.), in advertising and valorising their products with their specific characteristics in a more efficient manner. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Aroma Investigation of New and Standard Apple Varieties Grown at Two Altitudes Using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Combined with Sensory Analysis

“…However, significant interactions between factor variety and factor altitude were detected for Odor-Kiwi, Odor-Pear, Odor-Banana, Odor-Vanilla, Flavor-Lemon, Flavor-Kiwi, and Flavor-Green grass, illustrating significant effects for some combinations of altitude and variety. Similarly, Charles et al reported honey odor perception as the only sensory attribute to have significant differences at different altitudes on the “Golden Delicious” variety [ 22 ].…”

“…However, significant interactions between factor variety and factor altitude were detected for Odor-Kiwi, Odor-Pear, Odor-Banana, Odor-Vanilla, Flavor-Lemon, Flavor-Kiwi, and Flavor-Green grass, illustrating significant effects for some combinations of altitude and variety. Similarly, Charles et al reported honey odor perception as the only sensory attribute to have significant differences at different altitudes on the "Golden Delicious" variety [22]. Indeed, based on results of the non-parametric paired t-test, differences in the sensory attributes profile of the same variety were observed between low and high pedoclimatic locations (A-low 225 m and B-high 650 m).…”

“…In grape, Tomasi et al reported the effect of vineyard altitude on monoterpenes and norisoprenoids [16]; consequently, differences have been reported in wine with a "bell pepper" aroma exalted in wines from higher altitudes, while wines from lower altitudes were correlated with "red fruit" aromas [17,18]. In apple, the effect of altitude has been focused on in studies of physical and chemical parameters [19][20][21], and only very few works concentrated on sensory evaluation by using consumers or trained panels, such as Charles et al, who studied sensory attributes at different locations on one single apple variety [22]. Altitudes had a reported influence on aroma compounds [13,14,23], but there was a lack of information on its influence on apple VOCs.…”

Decoding altitude-activated regulatory mechanisms occurring during apple peel ripening

“…Similarly, heating apple fruit rapidly reduced the expression of the R2R3 MYB transcription factor ( MYB10 ), which is responsible for the coordinative regulation of the red peel color, as well as for the expression of other genes in the transcriptional activation complex 10 . Bai et al (2014) also demonstrated that UV‐B induces the expression of the B‐box (BBX) gene MdCOL11 in apple and that the MdCOL11 promoter is targeted by MdHY5 to promote anthocyanin synthesis in apple peel 11 It is widely accepted that the majority of these environmental factors (i.e., temperature and light) are tightly associated with altitude, therefore altitude could be an important parameter involved in the regulation of the final ripening metabolism of apple peel tissue 11 , 12 .…”

Eleven-year Correlation of Physical Fruit Texture Traits between Computerized Penetrometers and Sensory Assessment in an Apple Breeding Program

“…ruit texture is a major driver for consumer acceptance of apples [Malus domestica (Harker et al, 2003(Harker et al, , 2006(Harker et al, , 2008], and it has been rated by United States apple producers as a priority trait in the development of a successful apple variety (Yue et al, 2013). In the past 2 decades, a wide range of studies have been carried out to characterize apple fruit texture variability (Ballabio et al, 2012;Chang et al, 2018;Charles et al, 2018;Cliff and Bejaei, 2018;Cliff and Toivonen, 2017;Costa et al, 2011;Harker et al, 2002Harker et al, , 2006Luisa Dematt e et al, 2014;Park et al, 2016;Piazza and Giovenzana, 2015;Zdunek et al, 2010Zdunek et al, , 2011Zhao et al, 2017).…”