QUALITY OF DRIED SOUR CHERRIES FROM DIFFERENT

SERBIAN CULTIVARS
Olga Mitrović*, Aleksandra Korićanac, Branko Popović, Sanja Radičević,
Ivana Glišić, Aleksandar Leposavić, Slađana Marić
Fruit Research Institute, Kralja Petra I/9, 32000 Čačak, Republic of Serbia,
*e-mail: omitrovic@institut-cacak.org
INTRODUCTION
Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) is a widespread fruit species in Serbia. In terms of annual production, it ranks third, right after plum and apple. The fruit
is rich in simple sugars that give sweetness, but also contains acids, necessary for balanced and refreshing. Furthermore, sour cherries represent natural
source of bioactive compounds. Due to the content of a large number of different phenolic compounds that contribute to high antioxidant capacity,
many studies have shown that the consumption of sour cherries lowers the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other
diseases. Although the nutritional composition of sour cherries satisfies the needs of modern people in concerning of sugar and bioactive compounds,
due to its high acidity, it is mostly consumed in the form of various processed products, i.e. they are less consumed used fresh. Cherries are processed
into juices, jams, wines, liqueurs, brandy and dried fruits.
Drying is the oldest method of preserving food because in this way all nutrients are maintained, and moreover dried fruit can be used throughout the
year, unlike perishable fresh fruits. Serbia is known for dried plums and in the future it could also be known for dried sour cherries, given the mass
production of this fruit species. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the suitability of sour cherries for processing by drying, as well as to
examine the quality of dried sour cherries obtained from newly created and autochthonous Serbian cultivars.

MATERIALS AND METHODS RESULTS

Sour cherry cultivars and promising genotype developed at Fruit Research
Institute, Čačak (‘Šumadinka’, ‘Sofija’, ‘Nevena’ and ‘GV-10’) and Table 1. Chemical profile of fresh fruit of examined sour cherry cultivars
autochthonous cultivars ‘Oblačinska’ and ‘Feketićka’ were used for testing. Total Sugar content (%)
Soluble
The fruits were harvested at the full maturity stage during season 2022. Cultivar Solids pH
acids
(%) (%) Total Inverted Sucrose
Fruit drying was carried out in an experimental dryer at an air temperature
Oblačinska
of 70 °C until reaching 75% of the total dry matter. The air flow rate in the 15.71 b 3.13c 2.18 a 9.06 b 8.84 b 0.21 d
Feketićka
section of drying chamber was 1 m s-1. The fruits were pitted by hand 16.42 a 3.33a 1.14 d 10.64 a 10.22 a 0.40 b
Šumadinka 12.10 f 3.10c 1.94 b 6.67 f 6.41 f 0.25 cd
destoner and afterthat placed in a single layer on stainless steel trays. Sofija 13.52 d 2.93e 1.97 b 8.10 d 7.73 d 0.33 bc
Direction of vertical streaming during the process of drying was changed Nevena
12.95 e 3.02d 1.59 c 7.38 e 7.38 e 0.24 cd
periodically for 30 minutes, thus achieving the same drying conditions on all GV – 10
14.50 c 3.25b 1.63 c 8.82 c 8.04 c 0.74 a
trays. During the drying process, moisture losses from plum fruits were
recorded at 60 min intervals by a digital balance.

Figure 1. Chemical profile of dried sour cherry fruit (with 75% dry matter)
TA – total acids, TS – total sugars, IS – inverted sugars, SC – sucrose.

The following chemical quality parameters of fresh and dried fruit were
determined: soluble solids (hand refractometer), total and invert sugars and
sucrose (Luff-Schoorl method), total acids (by neutralization with 0.1 N
NaOH) and pH. Total phenolics content was determined using a modified
Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. Antioxidant properties were
determined by the ABTS assays.
Sensory analysis evaluated four properties of dried sour cherries: Figure 2. Total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant capacity (AC) of
appearance (maximum 6 points), taste (maximum 8 points), aroma dried sour cherry fruit
(maximum 2 points) and consistency (maximum 4 points), with 20 points as
maximum total score.
CONCLUSION
 According to sensory analyses of dried sour cherry fruits, the cultivar
‘Feketićka’ had the best, whereas cultivar ‘Šumadinka’ received the
lowest grades, which is consistent with the sugar/acid ratio.
 Dried fruits of cultivar ‘Feketićka’ had the lowest values of total phenolic
content and antioxidant capacity, whereas the highest values were found
in cultivar ‘Sofija’.
 All tested cultivars are suitable for processing by drying and obtaining
dried fruits with supreme sensory quality, although there are fine Figure 3. Sugar/acid ratio of fresh Figure 4. Organoleptic assessment
diferencess depending on the cultivar. and dried fruit sour cherry fruit of dried sour cherry fruit
Acknowledgments
The research was supported by Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia (Contract number: 451-03-47/2023 -01/200215)
and Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia #GRANT No 7739716, #CherrySeRB

V Balkan Symposium on Fruit Growing, Zagreb, Croatia, June 18-21, 2023