A process for identifying whether plant is resistant to chilling comprises cultivating the plant at a reduced temperature for a time period selected from short term and medium term; harvesting a tissue sample of the plant; measuring concentration of at least one metabolite in the tissue sample of the plant; comparing the measured concentration with the concentration of the same metabolite in a tissue sample harvested from a reference plant or a plant of the same species after cultivation at a reference temperature; and optionally, repeating the process of foregoing steps but cultivating the plant at a reduced temperature for a time period selected from short term and medium term and not previously used; wherein resistance to chilling is indicated by one or more of the effects on metabolites listed in Table 2 or Table 4.