Strawberry cream fillings are usually produced commercially by evaporation. This process can cause degradation of colour and loss of some aroma compounds in the final product. In the present study, freeze-drying was used as an alternative to evaporation and the quality of the products obtained by the two processes were compared. In addition, the influence of trehalose, used at concentrations of 3%, 5% and 10% as a partial replacement of sucrose, on the quality of strawberry cream filling stored at room temperature over a period of 6 months was investigated. The control sample was taken to be a strawberry cream filling prepared by evaporation and without the addition of trehalose. Both, colour and aroma of samples were significantly influenced by trehalose addition. The anthocyanin content of the cream fillings increased proportionally with trehalose addition, but this was not the case with fruity esters. Freeze-dried samples exhibited better colour and higher anthocyanin content, as well as higher content of fruity esters in comparison with the samples produced by evaporation. In addition, strawberry cream fillings were packed in air and nitrogen atmosphere, and stored for 5 months at room temperature. Trehalose addition and packaging atmosphere also influenced colour, aroma and texture. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.