Preference of banana flavour and aroma are not affected by time of the year or 'winter' chilling

Abstract

Banana (Musa acuminata Coll. Cavendish cv. Williams) eating quality was assessed through winter, spring and summer, and for mildly chilled bananas with symptoms mimicking that of ‘winter-chilled’ fruit using sensory testing and principal component analysis of mass-spectrometric data obtained from a ‘chemical nose’. Sensory testing of bananas harvested at different times of the year showed no differences in flavour preference, even though soluble solids were higher in spring at 23.6%, compared with winter at 22.6% and summer at 21.9%. Principal component analysis of mass-spectrometric data did not reveal aroma differences between times of the year. Results of difference tests for mildly chilled and non-chilled bananas indicated no differences in aroma intensity or sweetness. Mild chilling did not alter soluble solids and principal component analysis of mass-spectrometric data did not discriminate between chilled and non-chilled bananas.