Background. Metabolic processes, along with microbial activity, affect the quality of fruit, and consequently, lead to product spoilage, resulting in waste and an economic loss. This also applies to apples, even though they are stored under refrigerated conditions. Therefore, research on the possibility of using other methods to extend their shelf life is currently being conducted.  However, treatments used may, in addition to enhancing durability, affect other aspects of quality, in particular, nutritional value and sensory parameters. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the impact of the preservation method (convection drying, freeze drying and freezing) on sensory quality and chemical composition of apples. The chemical composition assessment involved the determination of the contents of protein, dietary fiber, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and vitamin C. Differences between preservation methods were analyzed statistically using linear mixed models. To identify the most similar samples subjected to the three preservation methods, a two-dimensional sample map was developed by means of a principal component analysis (PCA).
Results and conclusions. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that the most preferred method of preservation was freezing. Both convection and freeze-drying had a negative  impact on the content of vitamins, dietary fiber and protein in apples, with greater changes in the levels of dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B1 and odor being noted in the case of freeze-dried  samples. The results of the PCA analysis confirmed that frozen fruit had the closest nutritional value to fresh apples and the highest sensory quality.