Exploring the Impact of Fermentation Time and Climate on Quality of Cocoa Bean-Derived Chocolate: Sensorial Profile and Volatilome Analysis.

The market for fine-flavor cocoa provides significant benefits to farmers. However, identifying the sensory qualities of chocolate under specific environmental conditions and measuring how its chemical compounds may be affected by climate differences and postharvesting practices remain a challenge. This study investigates how fermentation time and agroclimatic conditions in Colombia's fine cocoa-producing region of Arauca influence the sensory profile and volatile compound composition (volatilome) of chocolate derived from cocoa beans.

Mechanical approach for the evaluation of the crispiness of food granular products.

Crispiness of food products is a key parameter for consumer acceptance. Available methods to evaluate this attribute are subjective and have limitations. They are particularly difficult to implement when granular products are considered.

Connecting data for consumer preferences, food quality, and breeding in support of market-oriented breeding of root, tuber, and banana crops.

The 5-year project 'Breeding roots, tubers and banana products for end user preferences' (RTBfoods) focused on collecting consumers' preferences on 12 food products to guide breeding programmes. It involved multidisciplinary teams from Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Diverse data types were generated on preferred qualities of users (farmers, family and entrepreneurial processors, traders or retailers, and consumers).

Link between Flavor Perception and Volatile Compound Composition of Dark Chocolates Derived from Trinitario Cocoa Beans from Dominican Republic.

The chemical composition of dark chocolate has a significant impact on its complex flavor profile. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the volatile chemical composition and perceived flavor of 54 dark chocolate samples made from Trinitario cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic. The samples were evaluated by a trained panel and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify and quantify the volatile compounds.

Potential beverage quality of three wild coffee species (Coffea brevipes, C. congensis and C. stenophylla) and consideration of their agronomic use.

Background: Of the 130 known coffee (Coffea) species, very few have been properly evaluated for their beverage quality. The diversity of wild coffee species is considered critical to the long-term sustainability of the coffee sector, particularly under climate change. The challenge is finding coffee crops that satisfy agronomic criteria, now and under the altered climatic conditions of the future, as well as consumer requirements for flavour.

Effect of spontaneous fermentation location on the fingerprint of volatile compound precursors of cocoa and the sensory perceptions of the end-chocolate.

Cocoa pod-opening delay and bean fermentation promote the organoleptic quality of chocolate. The present research investigated the changes in the volatile fingerprint of cocoa harvested at a traditional plantation. Cocoa beans extracted from 2-days pod-opening delay were simultaneously fermented for 5 days using container and then sun-dried to 7-8% moisture content at five different locations: Akoupé, San Pedro, Soubré, Djekanou and Daloa.

Impact of crossflow microfiltration on aroma and sensory profiles of a potential functional citrus-based food.

Background: Citrus juices can be cold-concentrated by crossflow microfiltration (CMF) in order to obtain functional foods enriched in carotenoids, flavonoids and pectins. The work aimed to characterize the organoleptic quality of this type of micronutrient-dense foods through their aroma profile and sensory analysis. Two citrus concentrates with and without a diafiltration step were compared.

Textural and physicochemical predictors of sensory texture and sweetness of boiled plantain.

Boiled pulp is a major form of consumption for plantain. We assessed instrumental (puncture test and texture profile analysis) and sensory texture attributes of 13 plantain cultivars, two cooking hybrids and one dessert banana at different stages of ripeness after cooking in boiling water. Firmness, chewiness, stickiness, mealiness, sweetness and moistness described sensory variability, which was greater between stages of ripeness than between types of cultivars.

Sensory quantitative descriptive analysis of African slimy okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) preparations and its correlation with instrumental parameters.

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) is one of the ingredients used in traditional West and Central African gastronomy because of the slimy texture it gives to sauces, soups and stews. However, in the literature, the definition of "sliminess" is unclear, the textural perception of these slimy preparations has not been described, and the possibility of measuring the textural quality of these sauces instrumentally has not been established. This study therefore aims (a) to identify the sensory attributes adapted to describe the texture of these slimy sauces and (b) to verify that the instrumental measurements adapted to characterize the rheology and texture of these sauces are well correlated to these attributes.

Multi-block classification of chocolate and cocoa samples into sensory poles.

The present study aims at developing an analytical methodology which allows correlating sensory poles of chocolate to their chemical characteristics and, eventually, to those of the cocoa beans used for its preparation. Trained panelists investigated several samples of chocolate, and they divided them into four sensorial poles (characterized by 36 different descriptors) attributable to chocolate flavor. The same samples were analyzed by six different techniques: Proton Transfer Reaction-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS), Solid Phase Micro Extraction-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (SPME-GC-MS), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) (for the quantification of eight organic acids), Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to triple-quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-QqQ-MS) for polyphenol quantification, 3D front face fluorescence Spectroscopy and Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS).

Assessment of acoustic-mechanical measurements for texture of French fries: Comparison of deep-fat frying and air frying.

The aim of this study was to develop an instrumental method for measuring the texture of French fries and correlated it with sensory measurements. For seven samples of French fries with different crispness levels, a cone penetrometer test was conducted simultaneously with microphone recording of sound emissions. A descriptive sensory analysis was also performed on these samples.

Flash Vacuum-Expansion Process: Effect on the Sensory, Color and Texture Attributes of Avocado (Persea americana) Puree.

The flash vacuum-expansion process (FVE) consists of two stages. In the first, the raw material is heated by a steam flow in a chamber at 101.325 kPa; in the second, the plant material passes into an expansion chamber (2 to 5 kPa), where the disintegration of the tissues occur.

Impact of fruit texture on the release and perception of aroma compounds during in vivo consumption using fresh and processed mango fruits.

Two fresh (fresh cubic pieces, fresh puree) and two dried (dried cubic pieces, dried powder) products were prepared from a homogenous mango fruit batch to obtain four samples differing in texture. The aromatic profiles were determined by SAFE extraction technique and GC-MS analysis. VOCs released during consumption were trapped by a retronasal aroma-trapping device (RATD) and analysed by GC-MS.

Consumer acceptance and sensory profiling of reengineered kitoza products.

Kitoza refers to a traditional way of preparing beef and pork in Madagascar. However, in order to improve some drawbacks previous identified, the product was submitted to a reengineering process. The acceptance and sensory profiling of improved Kitoza products among Portuguese consumers was investigated.

Biosynthesis of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline in rice calli cultures: Demonstration of 1-pyrroline as a limiting substrate.

The role of 1-pyrroline was studied via feeding experiments using rice calli cultures to gain further insight into the key steps of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP) biosynthesis in rice. The origin of the acetyl donor was also studied through stable isotope labelled substrates. Incubation of fresh calli from a fragrant rice variety (Aychade) and a non-fragrant variety (Gladio×Fidji K2) with 1-pyrroline led to a significant increase in 2AP in both varieties.

Effect of timing and duration of salt treatment during growth of a fragrant rice variety on yield and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, proline, and GABA Levels.

In greenhouse experiments, Aychade, a fragrant rice variety, was grown under one level of salt solution (EC of 3800 ± 400 μS·cm(-1)) sufficient to induce salt stress in rice. Timing and duration of salt solution application varied according to the growth stages. 2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP), a characteristic flavor compound of fragrant rice as well as biogenetically related compounds, proline, and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) were quantified.

Quantification of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline in rice by stable isotope dilution assay through headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A new and convenient synthesis of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP), a potent flavor compound in rice, and its ring-deuterated analog, 2-acetyl-1-d(2)-pyrroline (2AP-d(2)), was reported. A stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA), involving headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography-positive chemical ionization-ion trap-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-PCI-IT-MS-MS), was developed for 2AP quantification. A divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber was used for HS-SPME procedure and parameters affecting analytes recovery, such as extraction time and temperature, pH and salt, were studied.

Odor-active compounds in cooked rice cultivars from Camargue (France) analyzed by GC-O and GC-MS.

Volatile compounds of cooked rice from scented (Aychade, Fidji) and nonscented (Ruille) cultivars grown in the Camargue area in France were compared to that of a marketed Asian scented one (Thai) by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-O analyses of the organic extracts resulted in the perception of 40 odorous compounds. Only two compounds, oct-1-en-3-one and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, were almost always perceived.