3 Flavor of Fruits and Fruit Products and Their Sensory Qualities Yearul Kabir and Jiwan S. Sidhu Introduction History and Background of Flavor Analytical Methodology of Fruit Flavors Combining Analytical and Sensory Measurements Authentication of Natural Fruit Flavors Flavor and Chemical Composition of Fruits Biosynthesis of Fruit Flavors Genetic Improvement and Variation in Flavor Quality Factors Affecting Flavor and Sensory Quality of Fruits Preharvest Conditions Postharvest Conditions Flavor and Packaging Interactions Sensory Evaluation of Fruits Enhancement of Sensory Quality of Fruits Flavor of Fruit Products Fruit Flavor in Processed Food Products Future Research Needs References Abstract: It is generally recognized that the ﬂavor of fruit varies qualitatively and quantitatively depending on the cultivar, maturity stage, climate and cultural conditions, and the production area for each cultivar. The ﬂavor changes that occur between production and consumption are of enormous interest to the food and ﬂavor industry. The introduction of new fruits and their products into the market will only be successful if consumers’ expectations in terms of ﬂavor and sensory quality are satisﬁed. Due to the importance of aroma volatiles in sensory quality, recent advances have been made in research on isolation and characterization of the genes in- volved and responsible in the synthesis of aroma volatiles, which are crucial for the ﬂavor and sensory quality of many fruits. Re- cent developments in fruit ﬂavors and their sensory qualities are presented in this overview chapter. Major topics include: analytical chemistry of fruit ﬂavors, ﬂavor biogenesis, ﬂavor precursors and biotechnology, sensory evaluation of fruits, enhancement of sensory quality, genetic improvement and variation in ﬂavor quality, ﬂavor of fruit products, factors affecting development of ﬂavors, and sensory quality of fruits. INTRODUCTION Flavor is a complex quality trait inﬂuenced by genetic and nongenetic factors, not all of which are well understood (Goff and Klee 2006). Formation of ﬂavor compounds during growth, development, ripening, and/or senescence is inﬂu- enced by genetic, preharvest, harvest, and postharvest factors (Mattheis and Fellman 1999). Various studies reported sen- sory characteristics followed by health considerations among primary factors for increase in fruit consumption (Verbeke 2006, Enneking et al. 2007, Poole et al. 2007). Deliza et al. (2003) reported that foods are unlikely to be accepted if con- sumers do not like the ﬂavor. A large number of constituents such as acids, sugars, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and other volatiles individually or synergistically elicit sen- sory responses recognized as ﬂavor characteristics of a par- ticular fruit. This chapter reviews ﬂavor and sensory quality of fruits and fruit products. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF FLAVOR Volatiles (a complex group of chemical substances, such as aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, esters, lactones, terpenes) di- rectly affect the sensory quality of fresh as well as processed fruit products. The concentration of these volatiles in fruits is variable as it depends upon a number of preharvest and postharvest factors. The evaluation of the volatile proﬁles of various fruits (i.e., ﬂavor research) has been signiﬁcantly driven by advances in instrumentation. Great strides were made when gas chromatography became generally available. Prior to gas chromatography, the isolation, separation, and identiﬁcation of unknown volatile compounds was an ex- tremely tedious task. The advent of fused silica capillary gas Handbook of Fruits and Fruit Processing, Second Edition. Edited by Nirmal K. Sinha, Jiwan S. Sidhu, J´ ozsef Barta, James S. B. Wu and M. Pilar Cano. C  2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 35