Sensory and instrumental analysis of medium and long shelf-life Charentais cantaloupe melons (Cucumis melo L.) harvested at different maturities.

Highlights: [•] Flavour of medium and long shelf-life Charentais cantaloupe melons was compared. [•] Volatile and semi-volatile profiles were correlated with sensory data using multifactorial analysis. [•] Maturity at harvest has a significant impact on the flavour of medium-shelf life fruit. [•] Maturity at harvest had much less impact on a long shelf-life genotype. [•] Esters and sulphur-compounds were more abundant in mature medium shelf-life fruit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]