ARS | Publication request: EFFECT OF THE SUGAR/ACID BACKGROUND ON PERCEPTION OF TOMATO AROMA

Submitted to: American Society for Horticultural Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 15, 2005
Publication Date: August 15, 2005
Citation: Baldwin, E.A., Goodner, K.L., Prichett, K. 2005. Effect of the sugar/acid background on perception of tomato aroma. American Society for Horticultural Science. 40:1030.

Technical Abstract: Sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, or glucose/fructose in combination) were added to coarsely-chopped, deodorized tomato puree, increasing the sugar level of the puree by 2-3%. Sugars (equal amounts of glucose and fructose) along with citric acid were also added to another puree, at two different levels, to create a range of sugar/acid ratios (4.88 – 19.07). This second puree was then spiked with two different levels of aroma volatiles, reported to affect tomato flavor, in order to understand the influence of the sugar acid background on aroma and taste perception. The tomato puree was presented to a trained panel and was rated for intensity of aroma and taste descriptors on a 15 cm unstructured line scale. For the puree spiked with sugars, panelists detected differences for overall aroma, ripe aroma, overall taste, sweetness and sourness intensities when the puree was spiked with the added sugars (P < 0.15). Adding sweet sugars like fructose and sucrose resulted in decreased ratings for aroma descriptors, apparently detracting from panelists’ perception of aroma. The sugar/acid ratio of the second tomato puree was found to correlate with perception of taste descriptors sweet (+), sour (-), bitter (-) (P < 0.05), and citrus (-) (P < 0.15) for most volatiles tested. Correlations were also found for the sugar/acid ratio with overall aftertaste (-) when the puree was spiked with furanol, trans-2-hexenal, geranylacetone, or acetaldehyde; fruity (+) with '-ionone and linalool; and tropical (+) with cis-3-hexenal and geranylacetone (P < 0.15). The study suggests that increasing taste factors, like sweetness, results in decreased perception of tomato aroma in general, and affects how aroma compounds influence sensory descriptors.