Aroma extract dilution analysis of Cv. Marion (Rubus spp. hyb) and Cv. Evergreen (R. laciniatus L.) blackberries.
Cultivar Marion and Evergreen blackberry aromas were analyzed by aroma extract dilution analysis. Sixty-three aromas were identified (some tentatively) by mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-retention time; 48 were common to both cultivars, and 27 have not been previously reported in blackberry fruit. A comparison of cultivars shows that both have comparable compound types and numbers but with widely differing aroma impacts, as measured by flavor dilution (FD) factors. Ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, hexanal, furanones (2,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxy-3-(2H)-furanone, 2-ethyl-4-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-(2H)-furanone, 4-hydroxy-5-methyl-3-(2H)-furanone, 4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2-(5H)-furanone, and 5-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-(5H)-furanone), and sulfur compounds (thiophene, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, 2-methylthiophene, and methional) were prominent in Evergreen (FD 512-2048). Except for ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, these same compounds were also prominent in Marion, but the FD factors varied significantly (FD 8-256) from Evergreen. The aroma profile of blackberry is complex, as no single volatile was unanimously described as characteristically blackberry.