Tomato Cultivation: Two Approaches to Enhancing Tomato Flavour.
Different approaches to enhancing the flavour of tomatoes are taken by two Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Fort Pierce, Florida.
The effects of refrigerating tomatoes and dipping them in hot water to make them easier to peel—a practice known as “blanching.”, are studied by ARS plant physiologist Jinhe Bai and his colleagues at the U.S. Horticulture Research Laboratory.
Bai and his colleagues divided 60 tomatoes into three groups. They refrigerating one group, keeping a second group at room temperature and dipping the third group in 122 F water for 5 minutes to simulate blanching. To measure 45 volatile compounds associated with flavour released when the tomatoes were cut up, they used gas chromatography and an “electronic nose”.
The results showed that refrigeration greatly reduced 25 of 42 aroma compounds and reduced volatile levels overall by 68 percent. Blanching also greatly reduced 22 of 42 compounds and reduced volatile levels overall by 63 percent. The results spell out why it is better to store tomatoes and wash them before use at room temperature.
Elizabeth Baldwin, an ARS horticulturist and research leader in Fort Pierce. She wanted to find tomato breeders interested in developing varieties with enhanced flavour and also wanted to identify varieties and growing seasons best suited to two of Florida’s major tomato production areas.
Over seven years in south Florida and west-central Florida, Elizabeth Baldwin and her colleagues raised 38 types of tomatoes, timing production for harvest in March, June and December.
To evaluate flavour and measured the tomatoes’ sugars, acids and 29 key aroma compounds, they used human taste-test panels. The results showed that the tomatoes needed to contain a certain amount of acids to have adequate flavour and that the more sugar they contained, the better they tasted.
Tomatoes harvested in December had less sugar and fruity volatiles than those harvested in June, probably it is because they received more sunshine. Tomatoes harvested in March ranked in the middle in flavour.
