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Effects of hot water treatments on the main physicochemical characteristics and the levels of vitamin C and polyphenols of two sweet cherry cultivars (Prunus avium L.) during cold storage and shelf-life

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Abstract

The possible effects of hot water treatments (HWT) on the main quality parameters and bioactive compounds of two sweet cherry cultivars were examined over two years. Cherries were dipped in hot water (48 °C, 2 min), stored 3 weeks at 1 °C (CS) and for 2 additional days at 20 °C for simulated shelf-life (SL). Except for a slight decrease in firmness generally observed in treated samples (5–6%), no difference was observed between HWT and control fruits, neither for the main quality parameters nor the bioactive compounds during CS and/or SL. On average, the percentage of rotten fruit was more than 50% lower in HWT samples compared to the controls. These results show that the HWT conditions examined in this study effectively reduce the incidence of sweet cherry decay without impairing, after CS and/or SL, most of the main quality parameters or the content of the main bioactive nutrients. Because HWT are residue-free, easy to apply and effective in reducing post-harvest losses while preserving the organoleptic and nutritional quality of cherries, HWT are a good strategy for both cherry professionals and consumers.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Janet Zaragoza for proofreading the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruits et Légumes (CTIFL), route de Mollégès, 13210, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France

    Christophe Aubert, Fabrice Bulver, Guillaume Chalot & Vincent Mathieu-Hurtiger

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  1. Christophe Aubert
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  2. Fabrice Bulver
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  3. Guillaume Chalot
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  4. Vincent Mathieu-Hurtiger
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All authors conceived and designed the study. FB and GC performed the experiments and acquired data. CA performed statistical analysis and wrote the paper. All authors contributed to the discussion of the data and critically revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Christophe Aubert.

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Aubert, C., Bulver, F., Chalot, G. et al. Effects of hot water treatments on the main physicochemical characteristics and the levels of vitamin C and polyphenols of two sweet cherry cultivars (Prunus avium L.) during cold storage and shelf-life. Eur Food Res Technol 250, 1641–1651 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-024-04495-y

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