Volatile pumpkins

The fruit of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) is eaten boiled or baked. About 30 compounds have been identified in the volatile extracts of raw pumpkin, with the major classes of compounds being aliphatic alcohols and carbonyl compounds, furan derivatives and sulfur-containing compounds. Hexanal, ( )-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-l-ol and 2,3-butanedione have been identified as important for the flavour of freshly cooked pumpkins (Table 7.7) [35] however, studies using GC-O techniques are needed to get a better understanding of the character-impact compounds of pumpkins. 

The purpose of this study is to identify the major volatile components of freshly cooked pumpkins and to compare these to the volatiles of commercially canned pumpkins. 

TABLE I VOLATILE COMPONENTS OF FRESHLY COOKED PUMPKINS... 

The identities of the major volatile components of commercial canned pumpkin are presented in Table II and the gas chromatogram is shown in Figure 2. 

Bowman T, Barringer S. Analysis of factors affecting volatile compound formation in roasted pumpkin seeds with selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS). J Food Chem. 2012 77 C51-C60. 

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