Flavour profiles of three novel acidic varieties of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.)

Novel acidic varieties of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) are emerging onto the UK market. These melons contain almost twice the amount of citric acid compared to standard melons and are described as ‘zesty and fresh’. This study compared the flavour components of three acidic varieties with a standard Galia-type melon. The volatile and semivolatile compounds were extracted, using dynamic headspace extraction (DHE) or solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and solid phase extraction (SPE), respectively, followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC–O). More than 50 volatile and 50 semivolatile compounds were identified in the headspace and the SPE extracts, respectively. GC–O revealed 15 odour-active components in the headspace, with esters being consistently higher in the acidic variety. This study showed quantitative and qualitative differences among all four varieties and key differences between acidic varieties and standard melons.