Aroma profile of a red plum purée processed by high hydrostatic pressure and analysed by SPME–GC/MS

The volatile profile of a plum purée processed by high pressure processing (HPP) was evaluated by the method of solid-phase micro-extraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME–GC/MS). Two pressure intensity levels and three holding times were applied (400 and 600 MPa for 1, 150 and 300 s). Processed purées were compared to raw purée (unprocessed purée). A total of 40 volatile compounds were identified in the headspace of the plum purée. The major compounds identified were an aldehyde (hexanal) and two alcohols (hexan-1-ol and (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol). Among the total compounds isolated (40), 23 compounds were significantly influenced by HPP. The modifications of these 23 volatiles represented changes of the 1.8% of the total aroma of the original purée. Results showed that the most intense treatments did not significantly alter the original aroma of plum purée. Therefore, HPP appears to be an alternative technology for the preservation of aromatic compounds of plum purée. High-pressure processing is one of the most successful technologies to obtain high-quality fruit purées. It is generally recognized that this treatment better preserves the original aroma of fruit. Two levels of pressure intensity and three holding times were applied (400 and 600 MPa for 1, 150 and 300 s) in order to know the effect of the treatments on the original aroma of plum. The combination of pressure and holding time did not affect the original aroma of plum. Results of this paper demonstrated that high-pressure processing preserves plum puree with a fresh-like aroma. On the other hand, a study of storage would be required to assess possible changes in the stability of the plum purée taking into account other parameters such as microbiological stability and inactivation of enzymes.