The fate of furfurals and other volatile markers during the baking process of a model cookie

This work investigates the generation and the evolution of some neoformed compounds formed during the baking of a model biscuit. Thank to their physicochemical properties of volatility and hydrophobicity, furfurylic compounds were followed by a double approach: the analysis of the volatile fraction extracted from food matrix and from the vapours released during the thermal process. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) was the main furfurylic compound formed, it followed an exponential kinetic in both the matrix and the vapours of baking biscuits. However, at the very final stage of baking a drop in HMF was observed in the cookie matrix whereas increasing amounts of HMF were still found in the vapours of baking. Moreover, some degradation products of HMF such as furaldehyde (F) and 2-methylfurfural (MF) were also detected. These observations support the hypothesis of a concomitant volatilization and degradation of HMF during the baking of the model cookie, under our experimental conditions.