Identification and confirmation of key compounds causing cooked off‐flavor in heat‐treated tomato juice

Abstract

Cooked off-flavor produced by heat treatment greatly limited the acceptability of commercial tomato juice. To screen and identify the cooked off-flavor compounds, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O), aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and odor activity value (OAV) calculation were applied simultaneously. The results showed that there were 17 aroma-active compounds in tomato juice samples. Among them, three newly formed sulfur-containing compounds (dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, and methional) and 1-octen-3-one, which exhibited cooked corn/potato, onion, and mushroom odor, were proved to be responsible for the cooked off-flavor in heat-treated tomato juice (HTJ) by omission experiments and electronic nose analysis. The three newly formed sulfur-containing compounds were further confirmed to be the key compounds responsible for the cooked off-flavor in four different tomato cultivars that were commonly consumed in the market. K E Y W O R D Saroma-active compounds, electronic nose analysis, GC-MS-O, OAV, omission experiments, tomato juice Practical Application: Tomato is one of the most popular vegetables in the world and tomato juice is an important part of the tomato industry. However, the cooked off-flavor of tomato juice after sterilization severely restricts its industrial development. This study analyzed and compared the changes of aroma compounds before and after sterilization, and identified and confirmed the major offflavor components. This work could provide fundamental information for the prevention of cooked off-flavor.

Detection and Analysis of VOCs in Cherry Tomato Based on GC-MS and GC×GC-TOF MS Techniques

“…This aligns with the findings of Liu [53], who determined that (E)-2-nonenal plays a significant role in fruit aroma. The compounds dimethyl trisulfur, 2-octenal, (E)-, and furan, 2-pentyl-, which were identified in this study, have also been the subject of previous investigation [42,54,55]. It is noteworthy that this study has also identified two substances, namely 2-thiophenemethanethiol and pyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-(2-methylpropyl)-, which significantly contribute to the olfactory perception of tomato fruits.…”

Factors Limiting Shelf Life of a Tomato–Oil Homogenate (Salmorejo) Pasteurised via Conventional and Radiofrequency Continuous Heating and Packed in Polyethylene Bottles

“…Salmorejo has a complex flavour chemistry, involving many non-oxidized and oxidized volatiles from tomato, vinegar, garlic, olive oil, and other ingredients generated during processing and further storage. Liu et al (2022) [12] studied the main aroma-active compounds of fresh and heat-treated (hot break of pulp and sterilisation at 90 • C for 15 min) tomato juice. In this study, different volatiles were associated with fresh (E-2-nonenal), grass (hexanal, 3-hexenal), fruity (6methyl-5-hepten-one and citral), floral (linalool, phenylacetaldehyde, and b-lonone), and cooked (dimethyl sulphide, dimethyl trisulphide, methional, and 1-octenone) odours.…”

“…Therefore, salmorejo cannot be elaborated with blanched tomato and must be carefully pasteurised as its sensory attributes are easily altered. Heating can bring some sensory changes, including the formation of cooked fruit flavour related to sulphur volatiles and others [12,13], discolouration due to the degradation of lycopene and other pigments [14], or an increase in consistency due to pectin transformations [15]. These changes lead to products acquiring the sensory characteristics of canned heated tomato, undesirable for minimally pasteurised products such as salmorejo, gazpacho, or grated fresh tomato.…”

Juice Quality Evaluation with Multisensor Systems—A Review

“…Hence, EH treatment could improve the content of flavour components in fermented jujube juice. [144] Tomato juice Identification and control of cooked flavour in heat-treated tomato juice.…”