Identifying the sensory profile and fatty acid composition for quality valorization of Marrone chestnut cultivars

Consumers are increasingly interested in chestnuts for their health benefits and also for their organoleptic qualities. It is therefore very important to enhance the chestnut from a sensorial point of view. The sensorial characteristics of commercial chestnuts from three Italian Marrone cultivars (M1 ‘Marrone di Antrodoco’; M2 ‘Marrone dei Monti Cimini’; M3 ‘Marrone del Mugello’ PGI) were investigated with the aim of identifying their sensory profiles. The sensory evaluation was conducted according to (ISO 8589 in Sensory analysis. General guidance for the design of test rooms, 2007; UNI EN ISO 13299 in Sensory analysis. Methodology. General guidance for establishing a sensory profile, 2016). Each descriptor was scored on a range with intervals ranging from 0 (absence of the descriptor) to 10 (maximum intensity of the descriptor). The M1 cultivar is characterized by greater crunchiness (8.0, on a scale from 0 to 10), sweetness (7.5), aromatic intensity (7.9) and caramel aroma (3.3). The M2 cultivar is distinguished by its buttery (3.2) and floral aroma (3.0) with a wood/musk note (1.9) that is missing from the other two cultivars. The M3 cultivar has an almond aroma (5.2) and is distinguished by walnut (3.0) and citrus (2.8) aromas, which are absent in cultivars M1 and M2. The results of this study are important as they experimentally demonstrate that the identification of characteristic sensory profile makes the qualitative differences between cultivars evident. The results showed that linoleic, oleic and palmitic acids were the main components of the lipid fraction of chestnut nuts. In all samples the unsaturated fraction predominated over the saturated one. It is also important to note that there were significant quantitative differences between cultivars. The valorization of Marrone chestnut cultivars contributes to promoting consumer use of these products with their high nutritional value and therefore contributes to the promotion of public health.