The key odorants in the volatile fraction isolated from a steamed yeasted wheat dough (yeast dumpling) by solvent assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) were characterized by an aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). The 29 aroma-active compounds were located within the flavor dilution (FD) factor range of 8-512. Among them, the highest FD factors were found for 2- and 3-methylbutanoic acid, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, ( E, E)-2,4-decadienal, 2-phenylethanol, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2 H)-furanone, ( E)-2-nonenal, and butanoic acid. The 21 odorants were quantitated by stable isotope dilution assays (SIDA), and a subsequent calculation of odor activity values (OAV; ratio of concentration to odor threshold) revealed 3-methyl-1-butanol ( malty), 2-phenylethanol ( honey-like), trans-4,5-epoxy-( E)-2-decenal ( metallic), 2,3-butanedione ( buttery), 3-methylbutanoic acid ( sweaty), ( E)-2-nonenal ( cucumber-like), 1-octen-3-one ( mushroom-like), and 3-(methylthio)-propanal ( potato-like) as the most important contributors to the overall aroma of the dumpling. To verify the analytical results, a recombinate was prepared to show that a blend of the 21 aroma compounds in a buffered starch suspension resulted in a good replication of the overall yeast dumpling aroma.
Keywords: aroma recombinate; stable isotope dilution assay; steamed yeasted wheat dough; yeast dumpling; aroma extract dilution analysis.