Abstract

Mtebe Kaswija, Mamiro Peter*, Fweja Leonard

The need to develop the best off vine mango ripening technique for both consumption and processing was investigated. Sensory quality and microbial contamination was studied on mature green Dodo mangoes before and during a 3- and 6-day ripening period by Smoked Pit Ripening (SPR), Ethylene (fruit generated) Pit Ripening (EPR), Untreated Pit Ripening (UPR) and Room Temperature Ripening (RTR) as a control method. The post harvest ripening changes in the quality characteristic of ripe mangoes were correlated among treatments and compared with similar changes in other mango varieties. The results showed insignificant differences in sensory attributes among the employed techniques. Microbial quality was significantly different within the treatments, while with aroma profiles there were considerable differences of detected aromatic compounds between raw and ripe mango fruits. Increased number of aromatic compounds reflected the most significant sensory scores at ripening stage