Impact of Cultivar and Season on the Flavor of Red, White, and Black Currants: Integrated Instrumental and Sensory Analysis

Currants are highly valued nutritionally and are traditionally grown in the Czech Republic. This study investigated 15 cultivars of red, white, and black currants to better understand their positive sensory properties and their relationship to consumer preference. Red and white cultivars, in particu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Eva Vítová, Pavel Diviš, Jaromír Pořízka, Jana Zemanová
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/5156
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850030555486224384
author Eva Vítová
Pavel Diviš
Jaromír Pořízka
Jana Zemanová
author_facet Eva Vítová
Pavel Diviš
Jaromír Pořízka
Jana Zemanová
author_sort Eva Vítová
collection DOAJ
description Currants are highly valued nutritionally and are traditionally grown in the Czech Republic. This study investigated 15 cultivars of red, white, and black currants to better understand their positive sensory properties and their relationship to consumer preference. Red and white cultivars, in particular, have received little attention from this perspective. Sensory quality, primarily flavor, was evaluated in conjunction with volatile compound profiling to identify the sensorially superior cultivars. The results confirmed clear differences between black currants and red/white variants. Red and white currants, belonging to the same species (<i>Ribes rubrum</i>), exhibited similar volatile compound content and composition, as well as similar sensory characteristics, distinguishing them significantly from black currants (<i>Ribes nigrum</i>). The flavor of black currants, characterized by strong astringency and distinct blackcurrant notes, was generally perceived less favorably by the evaluators. A total of 54 volatile compounds were identified across the analyzed cultivars. Alcohols (contributing flowery and fruity aromas), aldehydes (grassy aromas), and esters (fruity aromas) were the most abundant in most cultivars. Using the odor activity value (OAV) concept, 15 of these compounds were identified as likely contributors to currant flavor (OAV ≥ 1). Principal component analysis (PCA) identified the top cultivars within each variant: ‘Victoria’ (white), ‘Rubigo’ (red), and ‘Demon’ (black). These are proposed for potential practical applications.
format Article
id doaj-art-fa701202120c437d8b75cda3d53a67a5
institution DOAJ
issn 2076-3417
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Applied Sciences
spelling doaj-art-fa701202120c437d8b75cda3d53a67a52025-08-20T02:59:11ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-05-01159515610.3390/app15095156Impact of Cultivar and Season on the Flavor of Red, White, and Black Currants: Integrated Instrumental and Sensory AnalysisEva Vítová0Pavel Diviš1Jaromír Pořízka2Jana Zemanová3Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 118, 612 00 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 118, 612 00 Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Brno University of Technology, Purkyňova 118, 612 00 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Food Technology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1665/1, 613 00 Brno, Czech RepublicCurrants are highly valued nutritionally and are traditionally grown in the Czech Republic. This study investigated 15 cultivars of red, white, and black currants to better understand their positive sensory properties and their relationship to consumer preference. Red and white cultivars, in particular, have received little attention from this perspective. Sensory quality, primarily flavor, was evaluated in conjunction with volatile compound profiling to identify the sensorially superior cultivars. The results confirmed clear differences between black currants and red/white variants. Red and white currants, belonging to the same species (<i>Ribes rubrum</i>), exhibited similar volatile compound content and composition, as well as similar sensory characteristics, distinguishing them significantly from black currants (<i>Ribes nigrum</i>). The flavor of black currants, characterized by strong astringency and distinct blackcurrant notes, was generally perceived less favorably by the evaluators. A total of 54 volatile compounds were identified across the analyzed cultivars. Alcohols (contributing flowery and fruity aromas), aldehydes (grassy aromas), and esters (fruity aromas) were the most abundant in most cultivars. Using the odor activity value (OAV) concept, 15 of these compounds were identified as likely contributors to currant flavor (OAV ≥ 1). Principal component analysis (PCA) identified the top cultivars within each variant: ‘Victoria’ (white), ‘Rubigo’ (red), and ‘Demon’ (black). These are proposed for potential practical applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/5156currantsflavoraroma compoundssensory analysissolid phase microextractiongas chromatography
spellingShingle Eva Vítová
Pavel Diviš
Jaromír Pořízka
Jana Zemanová
Impact of Cultivar and Season on the Flavor of Red, White, and Black Currants: Integrated Instrumental and Sensory Analysis
Applied Sciences
currants
flavor
aroma compounds
sensory analysis
solid phase microextraction
gas chromatography
title Impact of Cultivar and Season on the Flavor of Red, White, and Black Currants: Integrated Instrumental and Sensory Analysis
title_full Impact of Cultivar and Season on the Flavor of Red, White, and Black Currants: Integrated Instrumental and Sensory Analysis
title_fullStr Impact of Cultivar and Season on the Flavor of Red, White, and Black Currants: Integrated Instrumental and Sensory Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Cultivar and Season on the Flavor of Red, White, and Black Currants: Integrated Instrumental and Sensory Analysis
title_short Impact of Cultivar and Season on the Flavor of Red, White, and Black Currants: Integrated Instrumental and Sensory Analysis
title_sort impact of cultivar and season on the flavor of red white and black currants integrated instrumental and sensory analysis
topic currants
flavor
aroma compounds
sensory analysis
solid phase microextraction
gas chromatography
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/9/5156
work_keys_str_mv AT evavitova impactofcultivarandseasonontheflavorofredwhiteandblackcurrantsintegratedinstrumentalandsensoryanalysis
AT paveldivis impactofcultivarandseasonontheflavorofredwhiteandblackcurrantsintegratedinstrumentalandsensoryanalysis
AT jaromirporizka impactofcultivarandseasonontheflavorofredwhiteandblackcurrantsintegratedinstrumentalandsensoryanalysis
AT janazemanova impactofcultivarandseasonontheflavorofredwhiteandblackcurrantsintegratedinstrumentalandsensoryanalysis