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Aroma is a crucial criterion to assess the quality of apple fruits, juices, and ciders. The aim of this study was to explore similarities and differences in volatile profiles among apple fruits, juices, and ciders from different apple varieties (Festa, Branco, and Domingos) by headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (HS–SPME/GC–MS). A total of 142 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified, but only 9 were common in all analysed matrices and apple-tested varieties. Esters, alcohols, and aldehydes presented a higher concentration in apple fruits and juices, whereas esters, alcohols, and acids were dominant in ciders. Moreover, there were unique VOCs for each matrix and for each variety, highlighting the importance of the selection of apple varieties as an important factor to obtain good sensory and quality ciders, multiple benefits, and legal protection against the misuse of local products.

Onion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the main agricultural commodities produced and consumed around the world. In the present work, for the first time, the volatile signature of onions from different geographical regions of Madeira Island (Caniço, Santa Cruz, Ribeira Brava, and Porto Moniz) was tested with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME/GC-qMS) and chemometric tools, showing that the volatile signature was affected by the geographical region of cultivation. Sulfur compounds, furanic compounds, and aldehydes are the most dominant chemical groups. Some of the identified volatile organic metabolites (VOMs) were detected only in onions cultivated in specific regions; 17 VOMs were only identified in onions cultivated at Caniço, eight in Porto Moniz, two in Santa Cruz, two in Ribeira Brava, while 12 VOMs are common to all samples from the four regions. Moreover, some VOMs belonging to sulfur compounds (dipropyl disulfide, 3-(acetylthio)-2-methylfuran), furanic compounds (dimethylmethoxyfuranone, ethyl furanone, acetyloxy-dimethylfuranone), and lactones (whiskey lactone isomer), could be applied as potential geographical markers of onions, providing a useful tool to authenticate onions by farming regions where the influence of latitude seems to be an important factor for yielding the chemical profile and may contribute to geographical protection of food and simultaneously benefiting both consumers and farmers.

The flavoring of vinegars with aromatic fruits and medicinal herbs is a practice with increasing trend mostly in countries with oenological tradition, resulting in a product of improved quality and consumer attractiveness. This study was directed towards the evaluation of the impact of the maceration process on the volatile signature of wine-based aromatic vinegars (WBAVs). The evaluation was performed using solid phase microextraction (SPME) combined with gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Experimental parameters influencing headspace solid (HS)-SPME extraction efficiency, were optimized using an univariate experimental design. The best results were achieved using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fiber, 10 mL of vinegar sample, at 50 °C for 30 min of extraction. This way One hundred and three volatile organic compounds (VOCs), belonging to different chemical families including ethyl esters (37), higher alcohols (20), fatty acids (10), terpenoids (23), carbonyl compounds (six), lactones (five) and volatile phenols (two), were identified in wine vinegar (control) and WBAV. As far as we know, 34 of these VOCs are reported for the first time in macerated vinegars. Higher alcohols and lactones are the major chemical families in WBAV macerated with apple, whereas terpenoids are predominant in WBAV macerated with banana. The obtained data represent a suitable tool to guarantee the authenticity and genuineness of WBAV, as well as to promote the production of WBAV with improved sensorial and organoleptic properties. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reported studies dealing with the volatile signature of WBAV enriched with banana, passion fruit, apple and pennyroyal.