Postharvest quality and sensory attributes of Ficus carica L

The aim of this research was to evaluate the relationship between some physicaland chemical characteristics and sensory descriptors of fig fruits ‘Dottato’ and‘Melanzana’, belonging to the national germplasm bank of fig trees and cultivated inSouthern Italy. The sensory principal descriptors used are external appearance, skincolor, pulp color, odor, sweetness, stickiness, bitterness, juiciness, firmness, tannictaste and presence of achenes. Fresh weight, total soluble solids (TSS), titratableacidity (TA), TSS:TA, firmness, and sensory properties changed with cultivar. SSC wasmore correlated with sensory attributes than TA, but other factors may also beimportant in controlling this relationship, such as firmness. Our results proved thatsimple analysis of TSS, TA and firmness can not fully describe fruit quality, as sensoryanalysis does. The correlation between chemical traits and sensory descriptors,indicate that flavor, sweetness, skin color and texture best describe fruit quality, whilesmoothness, stickiness and bitterness were not important.