Essential and non-essential elements, and volatile organic compounds for the discrimination of twenty-three sweet cherry cultivars from Fundão, Portugal

• First report describing volatile composition of Fundão region cherries. • First study quantifying essential and non-essential elements in Portuguese cherries. • Contribution of cherries to the recommended daily and weekly intakes of minerals. • Genotype and origin influence bioactive compositions of sweet cherries. • Cherries were rich in potassium which is essential for human health. The mineral contents and volatile profiles of 23 sweet cherry cultivars were determined. A total of 27 minerals were determined by ICP-MS and flame atomic absorption spectrometry, including 12 essential and 15 non-essential elements. K was the most abundant in all cultivars, while Tl was the one found in the smallest amounts. A total of 66 volatiles were identified using SPME/GC–MS, including 16 aldehydes, 23 alcohols, 6 ketones, 6 esters, 8 monoterpenes, 3 norisoprenoids, 2 hydrocarbons and 2 acids. Benzaldehyde, hexanal, nonanal, benzyl alcohol, ( E )-2-hexen-1-ol, 1-hexanol, ( Z )-2-hexen-1-ol, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, linalool, α -terpineol and α -ionone were the major ones. Qualitative and quantitative differences were observed among the cultivars, which influenced nutritional potential and aroma. Cherries from Fundão region contain high concentrations of phytochemicals and nutritional components. 4-84, Burlat and Celeste might be considered some of the most interesting cultivars, since they are rich in essential minerals and present high diversity in volatiles.