Correlations of sensory parameters with physicochemical characteristics of Argentinean honeys by multivariate statistical techniques

Honey acceptability is mainly determined by its colour, crystallisation degree and aroma. In the present work, the sensory characteristics and physicochemical parameters of Argentinean honeys from different ecoregions were analysed. Moisture content, Pfund colour, diastase activity, hydroxymethylfurfural content, electrical conductivity, sugar profile and volatile compounds were analytically determined in honey samples, while sensory characteristics (crystal size, fluency score, sweetness, persistence, granularity, crystallisation, colour intensity and aroma) were evaluated by a trained panel. Significant correlations were found between honey crystallisation degree and hydroxymethylfurfural content and diastase activity (P ≤ 0.05). It could be confirmed that honey crystallisation interferes with the visual perception of colour. Floral, fresh fruit, ripe fruit, balsamic and wood aromas could be successfully linked to honey volatile profile (P ≤ 0.05). These results demonstrate that the parameters that could best guarantee the consumers’ preference can be successfully associated with the chemical composition of honey by multivariate statistical analysis.     

Effects of branched‐chain amino acid addition on chemical constituents in lychee wine fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

This study investigated the impact of single branched‐chain amino acid addition (L‐valine, L‐leucine, L‐isoleucine) on nonvolatile and volatile constituents in lychee wine fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae MERIT.ferm. The individual addition of branched‐chain amino acids decreased the consumption of proline with significantly different rates. The lychee wine with added L‐leucine and L‐isoleucine had higher odour activity values (OAVs) of isoamyl alcohol, active amyl alcohol and isoamyl acetate. The lychee wine with added L‐valine had higher OAVs of isobutyric acid and isobutyl alcohol (5.55 and 2.98, respectively), which were lower in the wine with added L‐leucine (2.91 and 1.02, respectively) or L‐isoleucine (3.43 and 1.73, respectively) relative to the control wine (4.18 and 1.77, respectively), suggesting interactive effects among the amino acids. These findings demonstrated that lychee wine aroma can potentially be manipulated via the addition of selected branched‐chain amino acids.     

Influence of Storage on Physicochemical and Volatile Features of Enriched and Aromatized Wax Organogels

In this study, virgin olive oil (VOO) organogels were produced with beeswax (BW) and sunflower wax (SW) and enriched with β‐carotene, vitamin D₃ and E as well as aromatized with strawberry, banana, and butter aromas. The physicochemical, thermal, structural, and sensorial properties of the fresh organogel samples were determined. The peroxide values, antioxidant activities, firmness, and volatile compositions of the fresh samples and those stored for 3 months were also determined. The organogels were not only stable, uniform, and homogenous during the storage period but also the added components did not affect the organogel properties. The panel defined three appearance, four texture, three mouthfeel, four aroma, and four flavor terms to describe the organogels sensorially. Moreover, the added aroma (banana, strawberry, and diacetyl‐butter) components of the fresh and stored organogels were quantified by GC/MS‐SPME. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that beeswax and sunflower wax are very suitable to preserve the aromatic characteristics of these types of spreadable products.     

Crossmodal correspondence between color,shapes, and wine odors

Crossmodal correspondence is of scientific and commercial interest in regard to the packaging of food and beverages. Research has shown that colors and shapes can be associated with certain aromas, but these interactions have been less extensively studied with authentic visual stimuli (i.e., packaging), or with complex food odors in a matrix. This study investigated odor-color-shape crossmodal interactions with complex odor stimuli (wine odors) and wine labels. The present research used projective mapping with 3D shapes and colors, along with a wine label matching study, to test whether chardonnay odors of different character (buttery, citrus, floral, smoky, and vegetable) were associated with certain colors and shapes. In the projective mapping experiment, most chardonnay odors were grouped similarly; however, the vegetable-forward wine was more associated with sharper shapes. In the label experiment, yellow labels tended to be better matched with all odors, except the vegetable-forward wine, which was matched equally to all colors. These findings indicate that, regardless of odor character, chardonnay is mostly associated with a yellow colored label. Interestingly, results also indicated that not all correspondences aligned with the most common color association of an odor character’s (i.e., vegetative was not strictly associated with green, nor smoky with brown, etc.). Significant correlations were found between stimuli liking and matching scores, speaking to the role of hedonics in correspondences. Overall, the present research demonstrates evidence for odor-color-shape correspondences in complex odors and realistic visual stimuli, but not as strongly as in controlled environments and simplistic stimuli.     

Effect of environmental humidity and coating on aroma transfer through treated papers

Coupled transfers of aroma compounds and water vapour were investigated by varying the relative humidity gradient of storage (50% or 90%) of two paper packaging at 25 °C. These papers differed in their coating surface: both were identically impregnated then supercalendered, and only one was twice coated on both sides with a synthetic barrier substance. Permeability and solubility coefficients were determined. The coating treatment was more effective to decrease the permeabilities of water vapour and ethyl ester than the effect of RH. On the contrary, the RH modified the water content of the treated papers and affected more strongly their permeability and solubility to cis-3-hexenol and benzaldehyde. The cis-3-hexenol transfer through the non-coated paper and the benzaldehyde transfer through the coated paper decreased due to a probable competition with sorbed water although it increases for the cis-3-hexenol of a plasticisation phenomenon.     

烘焙提香时间对工夫红茶品质的影响

为提高工夫红茶的甜香度,本文以山东夏季鲜叶加工的工夫红茶初制品为原料,在70℃的烘温下进行不同时间的烘焙提香处理,并通过感官审评、生化成分和香气分析方法研究其对工夫红茶品质的影响,结果表明:烘焙时间的长短不仅影响工夫红茶的香型和高低,而且也影响汤色和滋味,在本试验条件下,烘焙时间以1.0~1.5h的感官品质较好;此外,烘焙时间对工夫红茶各生化成分的影响不同,但对品质有利的生化成分以烘焙1.0h的茶样含量最高;随着烘焙时间的延长,工夫红茶香气的种类、含量以及组分比值发生显著变化,从而可以解释不同烘焙时间工夫红茶香型存在差异的原因。     

Impact of Debaryomyces hansenii strains inoculation on the quality of slow dry-cured fermented sausages

Debaryomyces hansenii strains, M4 and P2, isolated from natural fermented sausages were inoculated in slow fermented sausages to study their effect on processing parameters, microbial population, volatile compound and sensory characteristics. The inoculation of D. hansenii strains, M4 and P2, did not affect the ripening process as no differences in pH and Aw were detected. The dominance of the inoculated yeast strains along the process was followed by RAPDs of M13 minisatellite. The inoculated yeasts, P2 and M4, were recovered at the end of the ripening process although P2 appeared in higher counts than M4. The sausages inoculated with P2 resulted in a decrease in lipid oxidation values (TBARS) and a reduction of lipid-oxidation derived aldehydes in addition to a highest acid compound abundance. M4 inoculated sausages resulted in highest sulphur containing compound abundance. However, no differences in consumer acceptance were detected. Moreover, both yeast strains were responsible for the generation of ethyl methyl-branched ester compounds in the dry-cured sausages.     

A global study using PANAS (PA and NA) scales to measure consumer emotions associated with aromas of phytonutrient supplements

Phytonutrient supplements are consumed to increase dietary consumption of nutrients. This research addresses the opportunities and the challenges for this product category to better understand consumer choice and consumption in combination with hedonic (liking), sensory, psychographic and emotion measures. One objective of this exploratory study is to use Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to measure consumer (n = 303) emotions associated with 9 different aromas of phytonutrient supplements.A key issue facing emotion research in product development is the proper balance of positive and negative emotions. Traditional clinical emotion questionnaires emphasize negative emotions. Newer emotion questionnaires for commercial use emphasize positive emotions, both in the food and perfume categories. What is the proper balance of positive and negative emotions for a broad range of consumer products? Desmet and Schifferstein (2008) noted the “hedonic asymmetry”, or positive bias, which exists for many product emotions. In contrast to the clinical questionnaires which emphasize negative emotions, and the newer commercial questionnaires which emphasize positive emotions, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) has equal numbers of positive and negative emotions in both the regular and shorter forms.This study supports that the PANAS scales are valid in measurement of consumer emotions evoked by the aromas of phytonutrient supplements. The PANAS scale with 20-items and the short PANAS scale with 10-items are largely consistent in the results. Different phytonutrient product aromas were discriminated on their PANAS emotional profiles, and on both positive (PA) and negative (NA) dimensions. Results suggest that the hedonic, sensory, and emotional attributes represent different dimensions in consumer choice and consumption behaviors.     

Dihydroactinidiolide from thermal degradation of β-carotene

The formation of dihydroactinidiolide by thermal degradation of β-carotene was studied. A comparison of yields of dihydroactinidiolide in commercial β-carotene and β-carotene derived from crude palm oil was investigated. Thermal degradation of commercial β-carotene promoted the formation of dihydroactinidiolide with the highest yield, 61.21%. Thermal degradation of recovered β-carotene yielded 29.23% of dihydroactinidiolide. The lower recovery of β-carotene was due to the mixture of compounds in the extract. Further investigation indicated some other useful aroma compounds formed from this thermal degradation were β-ionone, 3-oxo-β-ionone, and β-cyclocitral.The outcome provided wide opportunities in utilizing crude palm oil as natural source of β-carotene to produce aroma compound.