Strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa) are known for their sensory appeal and significant market relevance. However, the escalating consequences of climate change pose challenges to their cultivation, including winters with higher temperatures and increased precipitation, and demand cultivars with increased resilience. In response, novel breeding programs aim at developing new cultivars resistant to weather conditions and diseases. These must also ensure that the new strawberry cultivars have desirable nutritional and sensorial properties, which are essential for consumer acceptance and consequently their commercial success. Further research will contribute to the identification of the genes responsible for these desirable properties and to the development of new regional and weather resistant cultivars. 

The goal of the study was to perform multi-data integration of the chemical composition and sensory properties of new and unique strawberry hybrids, result of the crossing of first-generation F. chiloensis and F. virginiana to re-create F. × ananassa. New strawberry hybrids developed by the NORDFRUIT breeding program were grown in the Southwest of Finland at the Natural Resources Institute (Luke). 13 hybrid strawberries (HS) and three commercial cultivars were harvested in July 2021. Foodomics consisted of quantification of aqueous metabolites using 1H NMR metabolomics, and volatile compounds with HS-SPME-GC-MS. Additionally, phenolic compounds were quantified with UHPLC-DAD, and sensory evaluation of selected samples was performed with a trained panel. 

HS were significantly different from commercial cultivars, showing the successful introduction of new genetic properties from its wild parents. HS had a higher concentration of esters, acetates, volatile acids, and total aldehydes. They also had certain ester compounds not found in the commercial samples. Lower concentrations of UDP-glucose and amino acids were associated to ripeness level. HS also had less intense red color, related to its anthocyanin content, and had smaller sizes and more intense flavor.