Physical, chemical, flavor and sensory characteristics of two sweet cherry varieties grown in 'Valle del Jerte' (Spain)

Volatile compounds and physical, chemical and sensory characteristics of two sweet cherry varieties autochthonous from 'Valle del Jerte', in the Southwest of Spain, during 1995 and 1996 seasons were investigated. 'Pico Colorado' had higher values of lightness, chroma, hue, firmness and Brix/acid ratio than 'Ambrunes,' 'Ambrunes' was rated higher for most of the sensory attributes evaluated, it had the highest scores for sweet taste and sweet cherry taste, although it had a lower Brix/acid ratio than 'Pico Colorado'. This must be due to the fact that "Pico Colorado 'had a move astringent taste that masked the others. Sixty-two volatile compounds were isolated and identified. The same volatile compounds were present in both sweet cherry varieties. 'Pico Colorado ' exhibited significantly higher amounts of compounds generated from amino acid degradation, whereas in 'Ambrunes' the more abundant ones were those volatile compounds coming from fatty acid oxidation.