Sulphured and unsulphured sun-dried apricots of Alkaya, a new variety of Prunus armeniaca L. grown in the Malatya region of Turkey, were compared to study the effects of sulphur treatment on their physicochemical characteristics and aroma compounds. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research Article Turk J Agric For (2017) 41: 59-68 © TÜBİTAK doi: Effect of sulphuring on physicochemical characteristics and aroma of dried Alkaya apricot: a new Turkish variety 1 2 3 1 1 1, Letizia INSERRA , Turgut CABAROĞLU , Kemal ŞEN , Elena ARENA , Gabriele BALLISTRERI , Biagio FALLICO * 1 Department of Agriculture, Food, and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Catania, Italy 2 Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Çukurova University, Adana, Turkey 3 Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Nevşehir University, Nevşehir, Turkey Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: Sulphured and unsulphured sun-dried apricots of Alkaya, a new variety of Prunus armeniaca L. grown in the Malatya region of Turkey, were compared to study the effects of sulphur treatment on their physicochemical characteristics and aroma compounds. Colour, texture, moisture, pH, total soluble solids, sugars, organic acids, and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural contents were determined. Aroma compounds were quantified and identified by GC–MS-FID. Sulphuring treatment before sun-drying had significant effects on some physicochemical properties (pH, titratable acidity, total acids, and colour parameters) and aroma compounds of Alkaya apricots. Colour parameters showed that browning was higher in the unsulphured apricots than in the sulphured ones. A total of 45 aroma compounds were identified. Sulphuring treatment significantly affected the aroma compound profile of the dried apricots. In general, the levels of aroma compounds in sulphured apricots were found to be significantly lower than those in the unsulphured ones (P ) average moisture content () to that of unsulphured apricots (). Both average pH value and average titratable acidity value of sulphured apricots were .
