Sensory and instrumental volatile flavor analysis of commercial orange juices prepared by different processing methods

Abstract

The objective of the current study was to correlate the sensory and instrumental flavor analysis results of commercial orange juice (OJ) products prepared by different processing methods. Descriptive analysis was conducted using a highly trained panel (n=6) to evaluate four OJs in triplicate. Volatile compounds associated with the four OJs were quantitatively and qualitatively identified using a Dynamic Headspace Sampling, followed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry analysis. The sensory characteristics of the four commercially available OJs were significantly different (p<.05). OJs requiring refrigeration storage (OJ3 and OJ4) had high intensity of orange peel flavor, and shelf-stable OJs (OJ1 and OJ2) had high intensity of cooked orange flavor (p<.05). Similarly, differences in volatile flavor profiles of 4 OJs were documented. The shelf-stable OJs (OJ1 and OJ2) had desirable volatile flavor compounds, such as beta-pinene, dl-limonene, linalool, nonalool, and decanal, and OJs requiring refrigeration had high levels of alpha- and beta-terpineol.