Suitability of nectarine cultivars for minimal processing: The role of genotype, harvest season and maturity at harvest on quality and sensory attributes

• Six melting nectarine cultivars were investigated for processing as fresh-cut.
• No significant effect of maturity stage on quality parameters was observed.
• Ethylene, ethanol and acetaldehyde production in the fruit was assayed.
• Browning susceptibility was found to be cultivar dependent.
• Some instrumental and sensory attributes were significantly correlated.

Six cling-stone melting nectarine cultivars (‘Big Top’, ‘Luciana’, ‘Honey Royale’, ‘Nectareine’, ‘Big Nectared’ and ‘Nectalady’) were cut and dipped into an aqueous solution of 2% ascorbic acid, 1% citric acid and 1% calcium chloride before being stored in amorphous polyethylene terephthalate trays. Their suitability to be processed as fresh-cut product was then investigated on the basis of their initial quality, browning potential and sensory attributes as well as the changes in these parameters after processing. At harvest, two maturity stages were selected for each cultivar based on their index of absorbance difference. Nonetheless, no significant effect of maturity stage at harvest was observed for most of the physico-chemical and/or sensory parameters during storage. On the contrary, differences among cultivars were emphasized when comparing ethanol and acetaldehyde production, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, volatiles production, sensory profile, and consumer acceptance. ‘Honey Royale’ and ‘Nectalady’ wedges showed higher volatiles production, whereas ‘Big Nectared’ and ‘Luciana’ had a slightly lower browning index (BI). In the sensory evaluation, ‘Nectareine’ had the highest acceptability scores, whereas ‘Big Nectared’ had the lowest. The significant correlations between volatiles, sensory attributes and degree of liking observed in this study underline the importance of aroma in fresh-cut products.