Antarctic krill Euphausia superba is an excellent potential source of food protein. We used enzymatic hydrolysate of Antarctic krill and 10 other precursors to seek the optimum krill reaction flavor and apply to ramen sauce. Krill concentrate and powder were compared by sensory evaluation. The krill powder performed better preference, and was added to ramen sauce, which itself performed better than a commercial shrimp flavored sauce. In total, 47 and 39 volatile compounds were identified from krill concentrate and powder, respectively. Both products contained many aldehydes and sulfur-containing compounds. The whisky flavor of aldehydes lowered the shrimp flavor of the krill concentrate. Sulfur-containing compounds were found in krill powder, confirming the results from sensory evaluation.

Headspace volatile compounds of cold-stored and freeze-dried Krill Eupausia superba were analyzed to investigate their flavor qualities using a system combining a dynamic headspace isolator, an automatic thermal desorber, and a gas chromatograph-massselective detector. Levels of oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as aldehydes, alcohols, and ketones, which are known to give seafood a nasty smell because of their low flavor threshold values, increased during cold storage of krill. Notably, levels of 2-methylpropanal, 3-methylbutanal, 2-methylbutanal and 2-butanone increased during its storage. They can be considered index compounds of off-odor according to freshness degradation during storage. By contrast, in freeze-dried krill powder, levels of aldehydes, ketones, and aromatic compounds decreased rapidly. Only alcohols, which did not greatly affect the food flavor, were isolated in large amounts. It was confirmed that levels of oxidized compounds of krill increased during cold storage, but decreased in freeze-dried krill.