Flavor and sensory aspects

Buttery, R.G. (1993) Quantitative and sensory aspects of flavour of tomato and other vegetables and fruits. In Acree, T.E., Teranishi, R. (eds.) Flavor Science. Sensible Rrinciples and Techniques. ACS Rrofessional Reference Book. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, pp. 259-286... 

Reviews of the association of chemical and sensory aspects were published as early as 1965 by Wick and later, for instance, by Vernin (1981), who gave examples of odor-structure relationship. Different structures can be related to similar odors, similar structures to different odors, and similar structures to similar odors. A statistical treatment of data became necessary to correlate analytical results with those obtained by sensory analysis, as stated by Adda and Jounela-Eriksson (1979). Since then, correlation between sensory analysis and instrumental analysis has been the subject of important sessions of the Weurman Flavor Research Symposia, for instance in the chapters on Sensory science in flavor research (Weurman 5th Meeting, 1987) or Correlation between sensory and instrumental analysis (Weurman 7th meeting, 1993). 

R. G. Buttery, Quantitative and sensory aspects of flavor of tomato and otber vegetables and fruits, in Flavor Science Sensible Principles and Techniques (T. E. Acree and R. Teranishi, eds.), ACS Books, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 1993, p. 259. 

Flavor can be evaluated by chemical and sensory evaluation methods. Descriptive methods of sensory evaluation are applied frequently to profile this important quality aspect (Jackson, 2002). To analyze flavor profile, the technique of descriptive analysis has been applied to a variety of beverages including vermouth. 

Flavor Is an Important sensory aspect of the overall acceptability of meat products. It Is perceived as the simultaneous stimulation of our taste and odor senses due to high molecular weight components and volatile chemicals present In cooked meats. The overwhelming effects of flavor volatiles has a tremendous effect on sensory acceptability of foods even before they are consumed. 

Roasted peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) possess a unique emd widely enjoyed flavor. In this review we will cover the formation of peanut flavor volatiles, analytical aspects, sensory analysis emd correlation of Instrumental and sensory results. 

The detailed overview on the nutritional composition and health promoting components of hazelnut provided in this chapter summarizes the existing knowledge and appreciation for the use of hazelnut and its products in a variety of food and specialty products. Besides nutritional value and health aspects, the presence of taste- and aroma-active components contribute to the sensory characteristics of products. Thus, better taste and aroma/flavor of hazelnut may increase the consumption of this nutritionally important nut, as discussed in this chapter. In addition, characteristics of raw (natural) hazelnut as well as its health promotion and disease prevention aspects are given in detail. Aroma-active components of roasted hazelnut are also discussed. 

In the real world, one is concerned with determining if a food has an objectionable flavor (sensory methods), and what is causing it (combined sensory/instrumental methods) since this ultimately suggests how to eliminate it in the future. In this chapter we will consider the approaches for determining if a food has an objectionable flavor and its source. The instrumental aspects of this problem have been considered in Chapter 3. 

This chapter will present an overview of flavor potentiators. While focus will be on the traditional flavor potentiators since they have commercial application, recent additions to this category of flavor ingredients will be presented. Maga [8] has provided a very comprehensive but now somewhat dated review of this subject while Yamaguchi [9] has focused his review on the sensory aspects of MSG and the 5 nucleotides, and Ninomiya [10] has focused on the sensory and safety aspects of MSG only. Nagodawithana [11] has provided a less detailed review of the traditional flavor potentiators than Maga [8] but it is comparable in breadth. 

When you bite into an apple, what you get is flavor. Flavor depends on odor and taste but also on texture, appearance, and mouth feel. Multiple sensory inputs are integrated in our brains to develop the sensation of flavor. We have developed several aspects of the molecular biology of odor and taste, perhaps the major determinants of flavor. 

Agricultural raw materials play an important role in all three dimensions. Thus, in the social sector the price of food products is of key importance, but also other aspects such as ethics or pleasure are relevant. With regards to the sensorial or health dimensions, agricultural raw materials may play a role in every single aspect from aroma over color and flavor to nutritional value. The importance of raw materials on visual aspects of processed food depends on the processing steps and the presentation of the finished product which might be less effected by raw materials. 

Water, saccharides, lipids, proteins, and minerals — the main components — form the structure of and are responsible for the sensory and nutritional properties of foods. Other constituents, present in lower quantities, especially colorants, flavor compounds, vitamins, probiotics, and additives, also contribute to different aspects of food quality. The catabolysis that takes place in raw materials postharvest, as well as chemical and biochemical changes and interactions of components during storage and processing, affect all aspects of food quality. These processes can be effectively controlled by the food processor who knows food chemistry. 

The sensory properties mentioned by Dufosse et al. (1994) are warm, sweet, powerful, herbaceous, caramelic, coumarinic. Mosandl and Gunther (1989) found for the (R)-enantiomer a faint, sweet coconut with herbaceous note, and for the (S) a sweet, creamy coconut odor with some woody aspects. The flavor is weak, sweet for the racemic compound (Chemisis, 1979). 

In fact, many aspects beyond the functional properties must be considered for the addition of polyphenols to dairy products. Apart from their antioxidant capacity, their sensorial attributes such as bitterness or the astringency of procyanidins can be easily translated into the dairy product [160]. When grape seed extract was added to low-fat ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk, the flavor characteristics of the milk were suppressed. Moreover, astringency and bitterness were also detected in fortified milks. The authors suggest joining this extract to cyclodextrins, thus forming complex polyphenols that result in reduced perception of sensory attributes [160, 161]. 

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