Determination of Quality Parameters of Aronia Melanocarpa During Cold Storage

Abstract

Aronia as a berry species has high antioxidant capacity and anthocyanin content. It yields in the second year after plantation, and its fruits, which can be processed and consumed freshly, are sold at quite good prices. Aronia has been cultivated in Turkey, where the aronia industry is considered to grow with the increase of its production in Turkey. When the literature is investigated, there is lack of research studies on cold storage of the chokeberries. Therefore, this research was carried out to determine changes in the quality criteria of aronia. The Aronia melanocarpa ‘Nero’ variety was cold stored for 34 days in plastic and carton cases in a cold store with an evaporative cooling system. The effect of storage case materials on quality properties was investigated. Ambient temperature and relative humidity in the cold store were measured. Chokeberry fruit samples were taken at harvest and after cold storage to determine quality criteria of the cold stored fruits. Total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, total amount of phenolic substance, total tannin, total anthocyanin and antioxidant activity for A. melanocarpa ‘Nero’ variety fruits were determined in the laboratory. Ambient temperature of the cold store varied between 3.9 oC and 5.18 oC. Relative humidity ranged between 70.19 and 85.08%, while air velocity ranged between 0 and 0.23?m/s. Most of the quality criteria were decreased during the cold storage of the A. melanocarpa ‘Nero’ variety chokeberries. According to the research results, quality properties of the chokeberries in carton boxes were better than those in plastic cases. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Der/die Autor(en), exklusiv lizenziert an Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland, ein Teil von Springer Nature.