Nashi or Williams pear fruits? Use of volatile organic compounds, physicochemical parameters, and sensory evaluation to understand the consumer’s preference

Ripen “ready-to-eat” fruits of “Williams” and of two Nashi cultivars (“Hosui” and “Ya Li”), present contemporarily on the stores, were evaluated by physicochemical parameters (shape, skin color, firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission, measured with a proton transfer reaction-time of flight-mass spectrometer (PTR–ToF–MS), either on whole and cube fruits, and sensory evaluation (panel test and consumer’s liking). The data were analyzed by ANOVA, LSD test, hierarchical clustering, PLS-DA, and CCOA. The highest differences for the physicochemical parameters were observed between Williams and Nashi, as Williams differentiated for sugar content and Hosui for firmness. By VOCs spectral analyses, it was observed that whole and cube “Williams” fruits had the highest number and amount of compounds, followed by “Ya Li;” “Hosui” was characterized by a few signals with low intensities. Fruits of each cultivar showed specific VOCs that could be used as markers for discrimination purposes. In “Williams” pears, the presence and amount of defined masses resulted linked to fruitiness and aroma perceived by the consumer. The higher sugar content and the typical pear aroma perceived by the panelists, emitted by “Williams,” could have influenced the consumer’s liking. The tasters appreciated “Hosui” for firmness, and “Ya Li” for visual, even if they resulted lower in sugar and flavor intensity. In the opinion of the respondents to the consumer test, “Williams” resulted the most appreciated both for the average scores of the acceptability and as percentage of responses at a level >5 of a nine-point hedonic scale.