Volatile compounds are responsible for food's aroma and flavor. Since they are thermolabile compounds, any increase in temperature can result in modification and/or losses during processing. The objective of this work was to verify changes in the volatile composition of apples, cultivar Fuji, during the processing of clarified juice. Headspace volatile compounds of fruit and juice samples were trapped on porous polymer and eluted with hexane. Eighty-four volatile compounds were detected in the Fuji apple by high resolution gas chromatography, of which thirty compounds were identified by GC-MS and Kovats indices. The predominant class of compounds was that of esters, of which 28 compounds were identified. Butyl acetate, 2-methyl butyl acetate, hexyl acetate and µ-farnesene were the major volatiles in the fresh fruit. Hexanal was the major volatile after pressing. Pasteurization of the clarified juice was the processing step that caused the most drastic change in the volatile composition, all the peak areas in the chromatogram being reduced. However, the major volatile compounds after pressing and during all the processing steps were the same as in the juice samples: hexanal, butyl acetate, hexyl acetate, 2-methyl butyl acetate and a non-identified compound.
gas chromatography; volatile compounds; apple clarified juice
