Impact of charged ionic species (NaCl and KCl) on the generation of color and volatile aroma compounds during caramelization

Abstract

During the process of caramelization, volatile and non-volatile flavor and color are generated via the degradation of carbohydrates. This research investigated the effect of the types and concentrations of salts including NaCl and KCl on the generation of volatile aromas and color during caramelization. The solid phase microextraction-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) was used to measure the volatile compounds generated in caramelization. The results demonstrated that increasing content of salt (NaCl or KCl) could significantly improve (P<0.05) the generation of some essential volatile compounds during caramelization such as furfural, 5-methylfurfural, 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural (HMF), propionic acid and butyric acid. However, the ascending amount of salt (NaCl or KCl) had no significant impact (P<0.05) on the color generation of caramel. In conclusion, the usage of salt was beneficial to the generation of more aromatic compounds during caramelization.

Quality changes when replacing NaCl with KCl in shrimp head paste

“…In the initial process, only treatment 1 provided a w lower than 0.91 that retarded growth of microbials. As known that NaCl can bind to water (water holding capacity) higher than KCl at the same molarity, therefore a w increased with higher KCl replacement (Xu et al, 2023). However, after drying, a w of all treatments decreased to lower than 0.91 and remained constant until fermentation for 30 d. An a w value lower than 0.91 but above 0.7 still allows halophilic bacterial growth but inhibits spoilage microorganism (Majumdar et al, 2018).…”