Frangipane Maria Teresa, Costantini Lara, Garzoli Stefania, Merendino Nicolò, Massantini Riccardo, Corona Piermaria
Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, via San Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy.
Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences (DEB), Tuscia University, Largo dell'Università snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy.
Foods. 2025 Jun 6;14(12):2013. doi: 10.3390/foods14122013.
The consumption of organic foods is on the rise, as health-conscious consumers increasingly perceive them as superior both in nutritional value and for overall well-being. However, data on the nutritional and sensory properties of organic chestnuts remain scarce. This research aimed to evaluate and compare the nutritional and sensory characteristics of organic and conventional chestnuts. Results indicate that organic chestnuts exhibit a distinct sensory profile and achieve significantly higher overall scores in sensory analysis compared to conventional chestnuts. Specifically, organic chestnuts displayed stronger aromas of chestnut (9 vs. 8), hazelnut (5.87 vs. 5), almond (5 vs. 4), butter (3.96 vs. 3), and floral notes (5.95 vs. 4.96). Notably, organic chestnuts were strongly characterized by a caramel aroma, which was completely absent in conventional chestnuts (1.95 vs. 0), and probably due to the exclusive presence of decanal and 1-pentanol observed among the volatile compounds. Furthermore, organic chestnuts demonstrated a higher nutritional value, particularly in terms of antioxidant content. The total phenolic content (TPC) was significantly greater in organic chestnuts (6.54 mg GAE/g) compared to conventional samples (5.18 mg GAE/g). The relationships between attributes and consumers' perceived liking revealed a strong association between liking and the attributes of caramel, floral, hazelnut, almond, and chestnut. These attributes are specific to organic chestnuts. As a result, both consumers and the trained panel prefer organic chestnut samples over conventional ones. Promoting the consumption of organic chestnuts by enhancing knowledge and awareness of their characteristics can encourage their use, contributing to key health and environmental sustainability goals.
随着注重健康的消费者越来越多地认为有机食品在营养价值和整体健康方面更具优势，有机食品的消费量正在上升。然而，关于有机栗子营养和感官特性的数据仍然很少。本研究旨在评估和比较有机栗子和传统栗子的营养和感官特征。结果表明，有机栗子呈现出独特的感官特征，与传统栗子相比，在感官分析中获得的总体得分显著更高。具体而言，有机栗子表现出更强的栗子香气（9分对8分）、榛子香气（5.87分对5分）、杏仁香气（5分对4分）、黄油香气（3.96分对3分）和花香（5.95分对4.96分）。值得注意的是，有机栗子具有强烈的焦糖香气特征，而传统栗子中则完全没有（1.95分对0分），这可能是由于在挥发性化合物中仅观察到癸醛和1-戊醇的存在。此外，有机栗子显示出更高的营养价值，特别是在抗氧化剂含量方面。与传统样品（5.18毫克没食子酸当量/克）相比，有机栗子中的总酚含量（TPC）显著更高（6.54毫克没食子酸当量/克）。属性与消费者感知喜好之间的关系表明，喜好与焦糖、花香、榛子、杏仁和栗子的属性之间存在强烈关联。这些属性是有机栗子所特有的。因此，消费者和经过培训的评估小组都更喜欢有机栗子样品而不是传统栗子样品。通过加强对有机栗子特征的了解和认识来促进其消费，可以鼓励人们食用有机栗子，有助于实现关键的健康和环境可持续发展目标。
