Recovery and evaluation of aroma development in apple peels

Aroma in Delicious apple peels was generated by conditioning peels at ambient temperature (19–23°c) for 24 h. The conditioned peels were processed, and the developed aroma was recovered in a pilot‐scale apparatus. The recovered aroma was evaluated for intensity and quality against standard apple essences derived from whole apples and unconditioned or no‐delay peels. The strength or ‘flavouring capacity’ of the concentrated aroma solution was estimated by threshold analysis and by a matching standard procedure at single‐strength juice equivalence. The aroma recovered from conditioned peels was 2–7 times stronger than that from similar no‐delay peels. Quality of the aroma solution from conditioned peels was statistically (P > 0.05), indistinguishable from standard aroma solutions prepared from whole apples or no‐delay peels. Thus, the conditioned peels gave aroma solutions with 2–7 times more ‘flavouring capacity’ than no‐delay peels, without significant sacrifice in quality.