The Danish growing season for Brassica vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, and pointed cabbage, is relatively short. This short window of availability creates a gap in the supply of locally grown produce, which increases reliance on imports during the off-season.
The GUDP-supported CabExtend project aims to extend the sales window for these Danish vegetables by implementing Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage technology. CA is a promising solution because it slows down physiological processes like respiration and senescence, which prolongs storage life. However, little is known about how long-term CA storage affects the nutritional and sensory quality of these specific vegetables.
This master's thesis project will investigate how post-harvest storage conditions influence the nutritional and sensory quality of different cultivars of broccoli, cauliflower, and pointed cabbage. From a nutritional perspective, the research will focus on changes in Vitamin C, glucosinolates, and sugars. Additionally, aroma analysis will be performed to evaluate how specific volatile organic compounds, which are responsible for the flavours of raw or cooked vegetables, change during storage.
The vegetables will be stored in both air and a CA environment at low temperatures. By comparing the effects of these storage conditions across several cultivars, this study aims to provide insight into how storage technologies can help maintain freshness and nutritional and sensory quality. The master's student will gain experience with different methodologies used to study nutritional quality and volatile organic compound profiles.
The project is aligned to UN's SGD:
