Journal of the American Pomological Society

Abstract

Apricots are highly desirable aromatic fresh fruits, although their high respiration rates as climacteric fruit limits their shelf life. Thus, they are often preserved as dried fruits or jams for enjoyment throughout the year. Winter hardy apricots that survive in USDA Zone 4 have never been tested for physicochemical properties and sensorial profiles of their jams; this was the objective for the present study. Fresh fruit from eight winter hardy apricot genotypes were harvested and made into jam; these apricot jams, along with three comparative jam controls were tested for soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, and L*a*b* CIELAB chromaticity coordinates, hue angle, and chrome values. Sensorial profiles were determined in a sensory evaluation panel using the following traits: color, spreadability, texture, fruit pieces, flavor, off flavor, sweetness, bitterness, overall quality, and desire to purchase. ‘Sungold’, ‘Westcott’ and the tart cherry jam control had greater than 60% soluble solids (°Brix). MN 604, MN203, ‘Brookcot’ and ‘Sungold’ apricot jams had the lowest pH levels. The lightest color jam (L*) was ‘Brookcot’ with ‘Debbie’s Gold’ having the yellowest color (b*). The darkest jams were made from MN206 and MN203 similar to the tart cherry control. Panelists were able to discern differences among apricot jams for spreadability, texture, fruit pieces, flavor, off-flavor and overall quality but could not distinguish differences in sweetness and bitterness across cultivars. Results from this study provided much-needed information on sensorial profiles and physicochemical qualities of apricot jams made from these winter-hardy genotypes. We concluded that the best apricot for use in jam making is ‘Sungold’.