Ripening Time Research Articles

The evolution of volatile compounds profile of “Toscano” dry‐cured ham during ripening as revealed by SPME‐GC‐MS approach

The volatile compounds profile is an important feature for the characterization of dry-cured hams. Some minor typical Italian products, such as 'Toscano' ham, have been poorly studied in regards to their composition of volatile compounds. In this article, we studied the evolution of the aromatic profile of 'Toscano' dry-cured ham by solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) with ripening. Ten right thighs were cured according to the 'Toscano' PDO protocol, sampled at 0, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months and submitted to volatile compounds analysis by SPME with a Divinylbenzene (DVB)/Carboxen/Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) 75-µ Stable Flex fibre. An Agilent 5975C mass selective detector (MSD) spectrometer with electron ionization (EI) source operating in scan mode within the m/z 29-350 range was used for data collection. Seven internal standards, either deuterium labeled or absent in the specimens and chosen to represent low or high boiling esters, alcohols, acids or phenols, were added to the homogenized samples and used to normalize the SPME fibre response to account for response changes upon wearing. Linear calibrations were obtained in this way for selected representative compounds. Over 60 compounds belonging to esters, aldehydes, organic acids, ketones and alcohols were identified by comparison with spectral libraries and Kovats indices. Aldehydes were the most represented chemical family, followed by organic acids, alcohols, ketones and esters. The aldehydes and ketones increased during the first 3 months, when the larger formation of volatiles occurred. For other families, the evolution over time was less evident. The principal component and discriminant analyses of the aromatic profile were effective in classifying the hams at 0, 6 or 12 months of ripening while for 1 and 3 months' samples a partial overlapping was shown. These results represent the first characterization of 'Toscano' ham and may constitute the basis to identify the best ripening time and define an analytical quality standard for this typical ham.

Microemulsion Synthesis and Characterization of Nano-Fe3O4 Particles and Fe3O4 Nanocrystalline

In this article, a two-step microemulsion method to prepare nano-Fe3O4 particles was adopted. Several factors including molar ratio of water to NP-5 (R), alkali concentration, temperature, initial total iron concentration, and aging time that may affect morphology and size of the nanoparticles were discussed. It was found that such prepared nanomagnetite particles have uniform size and good morphology with R being 6.0, alkali concentration being 2.5 mol/L, temperature at 30°C and initial total iron concentration being controlled at 1.75 mol/L. The Ostwald ripening and long aging time can induce formation of cubic Fe3O4 nanocrystalline with 100–400 nm. The crystal structure of synthesized nanoparticles was found to belong to the cubic system by selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) and indexing the x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern.

MICROSTRUCTURAL, COMPOSITIONAL AND TEXTURAL PROPERTIES DURING RIPENING OF LIGHVAN CHEESE, A TRADITIONAL RAW SHEEP CHEESE

ABSTRACT The physiochemical characteristics, microstructure and texture of Lighvan cheese were investigated over a 90‐day ripening period. The moisture content of the cheese decreased during storage and the salt‐in‐moisture ratio increased during this period. The most important biochemical change of the Lighvan cheese during aging was the extent of proteolysis. The water‐soluble nitrogen to total nitrogen ratio increased significantly during ripening. This microstructural study suggested that the size and number of pores increased significantly and the dense microstructure with large protein aggregates converted to a casein network with more homogenous aggregates. The degree of proteolysis caused the hardness of the ripened cheese to decrease during aging. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSLimited work has been done on Lighvan cheese, a traditional Iranian cheese, which ripens in deep natural or man‐made caves for 3–4 months at an average temperature of 10–12C. Reducing ripening time is desirable for the producer. This study identified some of the physiochemical, microstructural and textural changes during cheese aging in brine. Precise recognition of cheese changes during aging provides essential information for ripening characteristics control and reducing ripening time.

Microbial diversity, dynamics and activity throughout manufacturing and ripening of Castelmagno PDO cheese

The diversity, dynamics and activity of Castelmagno PDO cheese microbiota were studied in three batches produced in a floor valley farm, in the Grana Valley (northwest Italy), during the wintertime. Samples of milk, curd and cheese (core and subsurface) at different ripening time were submitted to both culture-dependent and -independent analysis. In particular, DNA and RNA directly extracted from the matrices were studied by PCR- Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR-DGGE. Culture-dependent methods highlighted the initial dominance of a thermophilic streptococcal population with the species Streptococcus thermophilus and S. agalactiae. Then, mesophilic lactococci occurred among isolates during manufacturing, with Lactococcus lactis which was also well represented in the first month of Castelmagno PDO ripening. At this point and throughout the ripening, lactobacilli prevailed in cheese samples, represented from Lactobacillus plantarum and Lb. casei. Culture-independent analysis underlined the undoubted role of L. lactis, actively involved in both Castelmagno PDO manufacturing and ripening. Despite Lb. helveticus was never isolated on selective media, a DGGE band referred to this microorganism was detected, at RNA level, in samples from ripened cheeses. On the other hand, Lb. plantarum was widely isolated from the plates, among lactobacilli, but never detected by direct analysis. Due to the importance of microbiota in the sensory richness and properties of traditional cheeses, new information have been added, in this work, on microbial diversity of Castelmagno PDO cheese.

Relationship between the physicochemical parameters and the ethylene emission during cold storage of kiwifruits

Summary Kiwifruit production is a dynamic agricultural activity in Corsica and represents 10% of the French total. Because of its composition, sensory characteristics and resistance during preservation, the kiwifruit has great potential for industrial exploitation. The kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. Hayward) produces ethylene because it is a climacteric fruit. The concentration of ethylene increases during cold storage at 0 °C. This increase is slow in the first 2 months of storage and then accelerates quickly to reach the climacteric peak. The timing of this climacteric peak varies in function of the year of harvest, occurring after between 100 and 140 days of storage. In parallel with this ethylene production, there is an increase in reducing sugar concentration, Brix, acidity and Botrytis cinerea contamination and conversely a reduction in the firmness and mass of the fruits. This study used statistical analysis to summarise these changes and show the influence of ethylene on the ripening and storage time of the kiwifruits.

Two composting phases running in different process conditions timing relationship

This research work pertained to establishment of timing relationship for two sludge composting phases proceeding in different conditions. The first phase was performed in a dynamical reactor and the second – in periodically turned windrows. The research was carried out in three independent repetitions with five test series cycles in each varying in the hot phase timing. The compost windrows ripening phase was monitored for 5months. The determined physical and chemical indicators (independent variables) made a basis for calculation of compost ripeness indices. To perform the numerical analysis an artificial neural network performing the generalised regression task was used. Using specific values of particular indices, as the ripeness criterion, a td=f(tp) model was created, in form of decreasing linear function, interpreting the relationship between time of compost keeping in the reactor and the time of compost windrow ripening. The obtained results suggest that keeping the batch in reactor for a period in excess of 18days is groundless, therefore, ineffective as it does not shorten significantly the compost ripening phase.

Effects of organic fertilisers and irrigation level on physical and chemical quality of industrial tomato fruit (cv. Nautilus)

AbstractBACKGROUND: The objective of this work was to study the influence of irrigation and organic fertilisation on quality attributes of tomato fruit (cv. Nautilus) grown for the canning industry. The assay was carried out during two consecutive years (2006 and 2007) in agricultural soil. Nine treatments resulting from the combination of three fertilisation types (sheep manure, a mixture of sheep manure and peat and an inorganic fertiliser (control)) with three levels of drip irrigation (3.30, 5.00 and 6.70 mm day−1) under black polyethylene mulch were applied (n = 3).RESULTS: For the chromatic attributes L*, H*, C* and S* the highest values corresponded to the treatments with organic matter. However, the a*/b* ratio and colour index value were higher for the control treatment. In all cases the estimated optimal ripening time was the same, and on this date a decline in the ratios was observed. The values of the physical properties increased with increasing irrigation, higher values always being obtained in the treatments with organic fertilisers. The highest production for all irrigation levels corresponded to the treatment with mixed sheep manure and peat fertiliser.CONCLUSION: Cultivation involving fertilisation with the manure/peat mixture and an irrigation level slightly above 5.00 mm day−1 can be recommended as optimal, since it gave the most satisfactory values with respect to the quality attributes of tomato fruit grown for the canning industry. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry

Identification of European and Asian pears using EST-SSRs from Pyrus

Ten EST-SSRs previously isolated from Pyrus were used to identify 81 P. communis, 13 P. pyrifolia and 20 P. ussuriensis or P. × bretschneideri accessions. Cross-transference of these EST-SSRs was high in these species. PYC-008 and PYC-004 were the least informative SSRs in each of the pear species and were monomorphic in P. pyrifolia while PYC-013, PYC-002 and PYC-009b were the most informative in all species. EST-SSRs were very valuable for identification of incorrectly identified accessions, failed grafts and sets of synonyms in each of the species. Unsuspected relationships were uncovered, including a parental relationship between ‘Anjou’ and ‘Farmingdale’, a clonal relationship between ‘Berger’ and ‘Bartlett’, and a very close relationship between ‘Beurre Superfin’ and ‘Doyenne du Comice’. One SSR marker was different in one of three sports of ‘Doyenne du Comice’ (‘Doyenne du Comice Crimson Gem’) and in one of two sports of ‘Anjou’ (‘Gebhard Red’ red skin sport of ‘Anjou’). UPGMA cluster analysis separated the pear accessions into a large European cluster and an Asian group mostly according to common ancestry, geographical origin or time of ripening. High cross-transference of EST-SSRs in Pyrus species is very valuable for germplasm management in such a highly diverse collection as found at the NCGR Pyrus genebank in Corvallis, OR.

A time for ripening.

A time for ripening.

GENERAL COMBINING ABILITY OF TEN STRAWBERRY CULTIVARS FOR RIPENING TIME, FRUIT QUALITY AND RESISTANCE TO MAIN LEAF DISEASES UNDER POLISH CONDITIONS

The aim of the study was to estimate the combining ability of 10 strawberry cultivars ('Camarosa', 'Darselect', 'Elsanta', 'Gariguette', 'Granda', 'Honeoye', 'Kent', 'Kimberly', 'Rosie' and 'Vikat') for 6 traits in order to evaluate their usefulness in the strawberry breeding program. The progenies obtained from 45 crosses (diallel cross design, Griffing's 4 method) were evaluated in the field experiment (randomized complete block design in 4 replicates with 15 plants per plot) located in the Pomological Orchard, Skierniewice, Central Poland. Observations across two seasons (2005 and 2006) of six traits: time of fruit ripening, marketable yield, fruit weight, fruit infection by grey mould and plant susceptibility to leaf diseases (leaf scorch caused by Diplocarpon earliana and powdery mildew caused by Sphaerotheca macularis) were recorded. Statistical analysis of data was carried out according to the fixed Griffing's model separately for each season. In both seasons GCA and SCA effects were significantly differentiated for almost all evaluated traits (excluding fruit susceptibility to gray mould in 2006). Variation of GCA effects was predominantly larger than variation of SCA effects for all traits over both years. Late ripening cultivar 'Vikat' showed the highest significantly positive GCA effect for ripening time (consistent across the both seasons). Most of the other cultivars exhibited moderately negative GCA effects for this trait. 'Granda' and 'Darselect' could be promising donors for fruit size - their GCA effects for this trait were significantly positive in both seasons. 'Kimberly' can transmit high degree of resistance to both pathogens D. earliana and S. macularis, 'Gariguette' - to D. earliana and 'Camarosa' and 'Kent' - to S. macularis.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND STRAWBERRY SEASON IN NORWAY

Global climate is supposed to get warmer the next decades. In Western Norway the average temperatures are suggested to increase about 1.0°C until 2050 and about 2.6°C until 2100, compared to 1980-2000. Data on strawberry yield were obtained from commercial strawberry growing in open field in the valley of Valldal in the fjord district of Norway for the years 1970-2000. These long time series were used for developing regression models to explain the effect of changing climate on harvest time for the strawberry cultivar 'Senga Sengana'. The mean temperatures per month for May, June, and July were crucial for the time of ripening. If the start of the harvest season was defined as the day of 5% accumulated yield, the average date for the start of the season was about July 18 in this district for the last 40 years. According to the predicted climate change and the regression models the strawberry season will start on average 6 days earlier in 2050 and 22 days earlier in 2100 compared to the average of 1970-2000, provided that the cultivars are similar to 'Senga Sengana' and that the cultural techniques are about the same as now. The harvest season was predicted to be on average about 4 days shorter in 2100 than in 1970-2000.

THE POLYMORPHISM OF THE GENES INVOLVED IN ETHYLENE BIOSYNTHESIS AND PERCEPTION IN APPLE

Apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) is a climacteric fruit whose ripening is associated with a burst of autocatalytic production of hormone ethylene. Although the ethylene biosynthetic pathway is well characterised, understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying ethylene perception and signal transduction pathway is limited. Little information is available about the functional relevance of allelic polymorphism of the genes involved in ethylene biosynthesis and perception. We have studied polymorphism in the ACS1, ACOI and ETRI genes, encoding for ACC synthase, ACC oxidase and ethylene receptor respectively, in apple cultivars characterised by different ripening time and storage capability. Two alleles of ACS1 (ACS1-1 and ACS1-2), five alleles of ACO1 (a, b, c, d and n) and five alleles of ETR1 gene (a, b, c, d and e) were detected. The position of all three genes on the apple genetic map was determined.

Productivity and Characteristics of American Elderberry in Response to Various Pruning Methods

American elderberry [Sambucus canadensis L.; Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis (L.) Bolli] is being increasingly cultivated in North America for its edible fruit and flowers, yet it remains largely undeveloped as a horticultural crop. Elderberry is a shrub that produces fruit on both new and old wood, thereby offering unique pruning management opportunities and challenges. The objective of this study was to document the response of American elderberry to various pruning methods in terms of flowering, fruit yield, phenology, plant growth, and incidence of disease and arthropod pests and to consider the impact of various pruning methods on horticultural management. Four pruning treatments (annual removal of all shoots, biannual removal of all shoots, annual selective pruning, and no pruning) were studied among three cultivars at two Missouri sites over 5 years. Although significant interactions among experimental effects made interpretation challenging, several trends were evident. Annual selective pruning was an excellent way to manage elderberries with mean yields of 1086 g/plant across all experimental parameters; however, pruning to the ground annually or biannually also resulted in satisfactory yields (855 and 1085 g/plant, respectively) with a fraction of pruning labor involved. Pruning plants to the ground consistently resulted in fewer, but larger, fruiting cymes compared with selectively pruned or unpruned plants, which may be important in terms of harvest efficiency. Pruning treatment generally affected the time of flowering and fruit ripening; plants that flowered only on new stems (after removal of all shoots) ripened fruit 14 to 21 days later than plants that fruited on old wood. Although annually pruned plants generally yielded lower, the plants remained vigorous and productive, and this pruning management technique may have numerous advantages over other pruning methods.

Preliminary evaluation results of new plum cultivars in a dense planting

Sixteen new plum cultivars mostly bred in Germany were tested together with several standards in a high density experimental orchard established at Holovousy in the spring of 2004 with spacing 5 × 1.5 m. Trees were trained as spindles on St. Julian A rootstock. In the orchard the following characteristics were evaluated: tree vigour based upon measuring of trunk-cross section area and canopy volume, yields, time of flowering, time of fruit ripening and basic parameters of fruit quality. The highest yields and precocity of fruiting were recorded on cultivars Tophit, Jojo, Elena, and President, whereas the least productive were Ruth Gerstetter, Anna Späth, and Topgigant Plus. Cultivars Katinka, Jojo, Topper, and Empress had the highest values of yield efficiency whilst the lowest ones were recorded on Topgigant Plus and Anna Späth. All evaluated cultivars were characterized by mean start of fruit ripening and length of harvest period. Topgigant Plus had the largest fruits (mean 75.9 g) followed by Bluefre, Empress and Tophit, whereas the smallest ones were recorded in Katinka, Gabrovská and Valjevka. The highest scores for fruit quality were given to Hanita, Tophit and Presenta. New cultivar Tophit was the most remarkable regarding all evaluated characteristics including its time of ripening that would prolong the season of commercially grown fresh fruit cultivars for use in the Czech Republic.

Contents of some biologically active amines in a Czech blue-vein cheese

Biogenic amines (histamine, tyramine, tryptamine, phenylethylamine, cadaverine) including biologically active polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) were determined by HPLC method after 7, 21, 35, and 49 days of ripening in the core (C) and edge (E) samples of a blue-veined cheese, popular in the Czech Republic under the trade mark Niva, produced in the three consecutive months (October, November, December) from pasteurised cow milk using <i>Penicillium roqueforti</i> spores; two vats were produced in each month. The cheese vat, including the production period, accounted for (<i>P</i> < 0.05) one third and two thirds of the explained variability of the sum of biogenic amines and the sum of polyamines, respectively. The ripening time was significant (<i>P</i> < 0.05) from this viewpoint only in the case of the sum of biogenic amines (nearly half of the explained variability). Putrescine and spermidine contents in cheese did not change (<i>P</i> > 0.05), spermine content even decreased (<i>P</i> < 0.05) with increasing time of ripening. Tyramine content (<i>Y</i>, mg/kg) in the core samples increased linearly with increasing time of ripening (X, days), <i>Y</i> = 6.3 + 11.69<i>X</i>, <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.26, <i>P</i> < 0.001, contrary to the edge part where tyramine content did not change (<i>P</i> > 0.05). At the end of ripening (49 days), tyramine was quantitatively the most abundant amine (the mean and median 380 mg/kg and 289 mg/kg, respectively), its content in different cheeses (vats) varying from 10 mg/kg to 875 mg/kg. Cadaverine concentration varied between 3 mg/kg and 491 mg/kg (the mean 114, median 56 mg/kg). The levels of other biogenic amines and polyamines (with the exception of putrescine in the edge part of one of the December vats: 117 mg/kg) were very low even at the end of ripening. Tyramine contents at the end of ripening in the core-samples were higher (<i>P</i> < 0.01) in comparison with those in the edge-samples, contrary to histamine, cadaverine, putrescine, and spermine contents.

Usefulness of 13 morphological and phenological characteristics of sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) for use in the DUS test

The descriptive value of 13 chestnut characteristics was assessed in the present study. The variables were measured over a period of 3 years in a contemporary collection of traditional cultivars located in two different environments in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Descriptors, which are particular to each species, are used in the characterization, differentiation and protection of cultivars and should comply with the following three criteria: distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS). Evaluation of the morphological and phenological characters was carried out with some UPOV descriptors and other descriptors previously recommended on the basis of their potential usefulness for the DUS test. ANOVA models were used to estimate the genetic and environmental components of variability and the genotype × environment interaction, with the aim of determining the properties of different descriptors for use in the DUS test. Most of the variables differed significantly among the cultivars, with high to very high heritabilities of between 0.63 and 0.97. Exceptions were observed with the variables fruit size, chestnut length and time of fruit ripening, which did not differ among cultivars in either plantation. The variables that showed the highest degree of distinctness, uniformity and stability were: time of leaf bud burst, filament length in male flower, time of beginning of male and female flowering, size of fruit hilum, and percentage of chestnuts with split pericarp. In contrast, time of fruit ripening, fruit size and chestnut length showed a low degree or no distinctness and highly heterogeneous degrees of uniformity and stability.

La place de l'information dans la décision en santé publique

Public health, prevention, health education and health promotion are inseparable from the concepts of information and communication. Information should respond as much as possible to the needs of professionals, decision-makers, and consumers who are more and more concerned and conscious of its importance in light of "information overload", various dissemination channels and the multiplicity of its sources. There are numerous issues at stake ranging from comprehension, to the validation of health information, health education, health promotion, prevention, decision-making, as well as issues related to knowledge and power. Irrespective of the type of choice to be made, the need for information, knowledge, and know-how is inseparable from that of other tools or regulatory measures required for decision-making. Information is the same as competence, epidemiological and population data, health data, scientific opinion, and expert conferences--all are needed to assist in decision-making. Based on the principle of precaution, information must increasingly take into account the rejection of a society which often reasons on the basis of a presumption of zero-risk, in an idealistic manner, and which also excludes the possibility of new risks. The consumer positions himself as the regulator of decisions, specifically those with regard to the notion of acceptable level of risk. All of the actors involved in the health system are or become at one moment or another public health decision-makers. Their decision might be based either on an analytical approach, or on an intuitive approach. Although the act of decision-making is the least visible part of public health policy, it is certainly the driving force. This process should integrate the perspective of all of the relevant players, including consumers, who are currently situated more and more frequently at the heart of the health system. Public health decision-making is conducted as a function of political, strategic and environmental issues; of lobbies and their power; and of social maturation. Decision-making is a necessity. Making the right choice at the right time requires high quality information, and it is often necessary to respect a certain amount of time for reflection and ripening of an issue in order to make the best possible decision. The media and consumers play an increasingly significant role in public health decision-making and in the ensuing legislative consequences and debates which come as a result. Access to information is changing, especially thanks to the Internet which is completely modifying the global scenery of knowledge and know-how. Information supports decision-making with calculated risk, and it offers the opportunity to make choices and decisions, recognising that "to choose, is sometimes to relinquish".

Primocane-fruiting Blackberry Breeding

Primocane-fruiting blackberry breeding was initiated in the early 1990s at the University of Arkansas. The source of this trait is the diploid genotype ‘Hillquist’. Introductions from this effort are the cultivars Prime-Jim® and Prime-Jan®. These genotypes are intended for home-garden use as a result of lack of quality for commercial production. Several traits have been identified that are high priorities in primocane blackberry breeding advancement, including heat tolerance of flowers and fruits, fruit quality, thornlessness, and time of fruit ripening. Progress in addressing these limitations through breeding has been positive and the outlook for further improvement of this type of blackberry is promising.

Laudatio for Professor Helmut Tributsch

Laudatio for Professor Helmut Tributsch

Viscoelastic Properties of Cheddar Cheese: Effect of Calcium and Phosphorus, Residual Lactose, Salt-to-Moisture Ratio and Ripening Time

The viscoelastic properties of eight different types of Cheddar cheeses prepared with two levels of calcium (Ca) and Phosphorus (P) content, two levels of residual lactose content and two levels of salt to moisture ratio (S/M) ratio were studied in a STRESSTECH viscoanalyzer. The elastic (G′) and viscous (G″) modulus were measured at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 months of ripening during heating the cheese samples from 30 to 70°C. Low levels of Ca and P content (0.53 g Ca and 0.39 g P /100 g cheese) in the Cheddar cheese resulted up to 20.9% and 15.9% lower elastic and viscous modulus respectively, compared to Cheddar cheese prepared with high levels of Ca and P content (0.67 g Ca and 0.53 g P/100g cheese) during ripening up to 8 months. Low levels of residual lactose (0.78 g/100g) in the Cheddar cheese resulted in 39.1 and 78.1% lower elastic and viscous modulus, respectively, compared to Cheddar cheese with high levels of residual lactose (1.4 g/100g) during ripening up to 8 months. In the same way, low levels of S/M ratio (4.8) in the Cheddar cheese resulted in 40.7 and 40.5% lower elastic and viscous modulus, respectively, compared to high levels of S/M ratio (6.4) during ripening up to 8 months. Upon heating from 30 to 70°C, the elastic and viscous modulus of the eight different types of Cheddar cheeses reduced up to 91.7 and 95.1%, respectively, during ripening. Cheddar cheese recorded maximum elastic modulus at the end of 8 months of ripening, and maximum viscous modulus at the end of 4 months of ripening.