*2.4. Total Soluble Solids, Titratable Acidity, pH, Peel Color, Weight Loss, Moisture/Dry Matter and Respiration*

The total soluble solids (TSS) of the flesh was estimated in each fruit separately by an Atago 8469 (Atago Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) hand refractometer. Titratable acidity (TA) was measured by the titration of 10 g of fruit sap to pH 8.2 with 0.1 M NaOH. pH was measured by a pH-meter (Jenway 3310; Jenway Ltd., Dunmow, UK).

The color grade was evaluated according to the color program developed by the Centre Technique Interprofessionnel des Fruit et Legumes (CTIFL, Paris, France), in which 1 = light pink and 7 = dark mahogany. The present cherries at harvest were evaluated as of color grade 6, indicating the advanced maturity stage.

Accurate peel color determinations were carried out on 10 fruits per replicate on the opposite sides of each fruit with a Minolta chromatometer (CR-300; Minolta, Ahrensburg, Germany) according to Tsantili et al. [27]. The measurements are expressed as chroma (intensity of color), hue angle (actual color, or redness), and *L*\* value (lightness ranging from 0 = black to 100 = white). In particular, the recorded values of *a\** and *b\** were converted into hue angle (*h*◦) and *C\** according to the following equations:

$$h\circ = \tan^{-1}\left(b^\*/a^\*\right) \text{ when } a^\* > 0 \text{ and } b^\* > 0$$

$$h\circ = 180^\circ + \tan^{-1}\left(b^\*/a^\*\right) \text{ when } a^\* < 0$$

$$h\circ = 360^\circ + \tan^{-1}\left(b^\*/a^\*\right) \text{ when } a^\* > 0 \text{ and } b^\* < 0$$

$$\mathsf{C}^\* = \left(a^\* + b^\*\right)^{1/2}$$

Fruit weight loss was measured immediately after removal of the packages from storage and expressed as the percentage difference between the fruit weight (15 cherries) immediately after drying at day 0 and the weight at sampling (%, *w/w*).

Fruit moisture/dry matter was determined according to AOAC method 934.06 on each sampling day by the difference in weight of ~5 g pulp from 10 fruit before and after drying at 105 ◦C until constant weight.

Fruit respiration rates (RR) assessed as CO2 production were measured using a closed portable infrared gas analyzer (LI-6400; LI-COR, Lincoln, NE, USA) connected to a 750 mL airtight jar at a flow rate of 900 μmol s−<sup>1</sup> [28]. On each sampling day and for each coating treatment, the RRs were measured on 10 randomly selected fruits per replicate after temperature equilibration at 20 ◦C. The CO2 production rates were expressed in nmol kg−<sup>1</sup> h<sup>−</sup>1.
