Alternating temperature in postharvest cooling treatment of 'Fiano' and 'Falanghina' grapes affects cell wall enzyme rate, berry softening and polyphenols.

BACKGROUND: In wine production, temperature control is important and cooling techniques are frequently used to cool down grape must. Grape compound extraction is facilitated by enzymatic cell wall disassembly. Accordingly, our hypothesis is that the use of an alternating temperature could favor enzyme activity and thus berry compound extraction. RESULTS: White wine grapes (cvs 'Falanghina' and 'Fiano') were kept at 4 °C or at an alternating temperature (4 and 20 °C with a 6-h interval) for 24 h. During the cooling treatment, berry skin resistance, berry firmness and native enzymes from the cell wall were analyzed; sugars, total acidity, malic acid and polyphenols were also measured. In 'Falanghina', α-d-glucosidase, ß-d-galactosidase and pectinmethylesterase increased in grape berry kept at an alternating temperature, and the berry firmness decreased and the polyphenol content was greater than in the other sample. In 'Fiano', polygalacturonase and pectinmethylesterase were responsable for berry softening and, overall, with an alternating temperature, the activity was higher and, consequently, sugars and polyphenol contents were higher. CONCLUSION: Instead of just cooling wine grape, a 24-h cycle of low and high temperature on wine grape after harvest could be used to increase cell wall enzyme activity and, consequently, decrease the berry firmness, favouring an increase in sugars and polyphenol contents. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Combining color chart, colorimetric measurement and chemical compounds for postharvest quality of white wine grapes.

BACKGROUND: This paper provides data for the potential use of a color chart to establish the best quality of white wine grapes destined for postharvest processing. Grechetto, Vermentino and Muscat of Alexandria white wine grape varieties were tested by sampling berries at different dates during their quality attribute evolution. A color chart and reflectance spectrocolorimeter were used in combination with analyses of total carotenoids and chlorophylls in all three varieties and of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Grechetto alone. RESULTS: Total carotenoids decreased from 0.85 to 0.76 µg g-1 in Grechetto berries and from 0.70 to 0.46 µg g-1 in Vermentino berries while increased from 0.70 to 0.80 µg g-1 in Muscat berries during ripening. Total chlorophylls decreased in all varieties, and a strict correlation was found between hue angle (measured by color chart or spectrocolorimeter) and chlorophyll disappearance, with R2 ranging from 0.81 to 0.95 depending on the variety. VOCs were only measured in Grechetto grapes, and a significant increase in glycosylation was found with ripening. The concentration of different classes of VOCs exhibited a clear decrease during ripening, except for terpenoids and esters which showed a peak at the beginning. The benzenoid class reached the highest concentration, which was almost 50% of the total. Cluster analysis using Ward's method enabled the best grape quality to be identified. CONCLUSION: This experimental work highlights that a color chart is cheap and easy to use to define the right quality stage for white wine grapes. The color chart enabled the enochemical features to be matched with the VOC results for the aromatic maturity of Grechetto. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Biodegradable PLA (polylactic acid) hinged trays keep quality of fresh-cut and cooked spinach.

This work examines the effects of packaging using two different polymeric trays with hinged lids, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polylactic acid (PLA), on fresh-cut and cooked spinach (Spinacia oleracea). Samples were stored in a cold room for 16 days at 4 °C. Chemical (total pigments, total polyphenols, ascorbic acid, antioxidant activity), physical (water activity), technological (colour evaluation), sensorial (aroma, visual appearance and water accumulation) and microbial (total aerobic mesophilic and psychrotrophic counts) parameters were tested. Both polymeric trays maintained the overall quality of fresh spinach for 6 days but spinach stored in PLA trays maintained its flavour longer. A significant increase in total polyphenols, antiradical activity, total carotenoids as well as a decrease in ascorbic acid in fresh spinach was observed in the first 3 days of storage in both samples. Unfortunately, the PLA package accumulated condensed water. The total microbial load of fresh-cut spinach reached about 6.3-7.3 log CFU g(-1) within 8 days. Cooked spinach packed in PLA and PET polymeric hinged trays showed the same behaviour as fresh spinach in terms of quality and shelf life. In conclusion, PLA plastic hinged trays can be used for packaging fresh-cut and cooked cut spinach, but the problem of condensed water must be solved.