Berry size and weight as factors influencing the chemical composition of strawberry fruit

Abstract

Size and weight are one of the most important quality factors of strawberries along with color and taste. Based on these factors, the fruit can be marked as non-marketable as fresh fruit and culled or used for further processing, even though it provides a desirable taste and colour. In this study, differences in composition among fruit of different sizes and weights within two strawberry cultivars (‘Lycia’ and ‘Clery’) were evaluated (physical parameters, TSS, organic acids, sugars, anthocyanins, and other phenolic compounds). Ascorbic acid and sugar content (per fresh weight) were higher in larger fruit for both studied cultivars. In 'Lycia', the large fruit contained on average 20% more sugars and 35% more ascorbic acid. The small fruit showed higher anthocyanin content than the large fruit by 245 and 63.4 mg kg− 1 for 'Clery' and 'Lycia', respectively. However, the total organic acids content and peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activity did not show any differences among the fruit of different sizes. Small-sized fruit can serve as a good source of antioxidants due to the high anthocyanin content and can be suitable for further processing due to the lower ascorbic acid content and higher anthocyanin content.