Introduction. Pescabivona is
the name of an autochthonous peach [Prunus persica (L.)
Batch] population of the central west of Sicily. In a previous work,
this fruit was submitted to chemical analysis, while in this paper,
sensory evaluation is considered. Materials and methods.
Samples of four Pescabivona landraces were harvested
throughout the harvest season. A trained panel outlined the sensory
profiles and the data were processed by ANOVA and Principal Component
Analysis (PCA). A correlation between sensory analysis and instrumental
data was finally carried out. Results and discussion.
The results demonstrated a high standard of quality for the four
landraces studied, with some differences in aroma intensity and in
some other parameters, with sweetness and aroma being highly correlated
with overall liking. PCA did not clearly separate the different
landraces as they have the same origin. Some correlations between
sensory analysis and instrumental data were verified. The sensory liking
was correlated with the main ripeness parameters, as well as with the
pulp firmness. Conclusion. The data obtained contribute to
outlining a complete fruit profile for product comparison and shelf-life
monitoring. As previously verified for chemical parameters, the
sensory evaluation indicates a substantial similarity among the landraces.
The good agreement between sensory evaluation and composition makes
sensory analysis a precious tool to assess quality of Pescabivona
landraces.