Characterizing the potential of late- and ice-harvest apple from the Loess Plateau area of China to make ice ciders: from the view of phytochemicals and aromas

• Aroma and phytochemicals in new cultivar Changfu No.2 were determined. • Key aroma components were profiled by GC-MS-O/DF and OAVs analysis. • Two years of late and ice harvest apples were analyzed. • Ice harvest was found conducive to concentrate of apple aroma. The development of innovative products such as ice cider is an important means of adding value to the industry. This research aimed to examine the aroma profiles of late and ice-harvested Changfu No.2 (CF2) apples, along with their essential phytochemicals. Samples were collected at 15-day intervals, starting from the commercial harvest and continuing through to the ice harvest. Through GC-MS-Olfactometry/DF analysis, twenty-one aroma components were identified as the key odorants of CF2. The ice-harvested apples were used to make ice cider, and then it was compared with the apple juice produced during the same period. Quantitative analysis using HS-SPME-GC-MS and subsequent OAV analysis revealed increasing trends in most aroma compounds leading up to the ice harvest. Moreover, there are more aroma compounds in ice cider than in apple juice, suggesting that late and ice harvests are beneficial for enhancing the aggregation of apple aroma. These findings establish a scientific foundation for assessing the potential for producing ice cider from late and ice-harvested apples from the Loess Plateau area of China.