Influence of fruit treatments on perishability during cold storage of sweet chestnuts

With a view to enhancing the quality of local chestnut in southern Switzerland, the impact of three treatments ['soaking', 'cold bath' (hydrotherapy) and 'warm bath' (thermo-hydrotherapy)] on the qualitative, chemical and sensory characteristics of the nuts during 90 days of cold storage was evaluated. Weight and water content decreased significantly with increasing duration of storage. Starch content decreased following a negative logistic trend. Sucrose, however, increased steeply according to a monomolecular trend and was significantly higher between 0 and 60 days of storage in the soaked chestnuts than in the cold-bath treated nuts. The mean proportion of mouldy fruit remained constant at 27% for the warm-bath treated nuts and increased from 16 to 30% for the cold-bath treated fruit and from 28 to 63% for the soaked nuts during the 90 days of cold storage. The most frequently isolated moulds were Ciboria batschiana, Penicillium spp. and Mucor hiemalis. Warm and cold baths were successful in eliminating the larvae of Cydia splendana but the cold bath was inadequate to control Curculio elephas. Cold bath significantly reduced the sensory qualities (sweetness, aroma, texture) of the nuts, but made them easier to peel, as did the warm bath. (c) 2006 Society of Chemical Industry.