Abstract/Summary

The odour-active compounds of two samples of mildly heated pasteurised milk were investigated (whole and skimmed). The volatile compounds of milk were extracted by solvent assisted flavour evaporation (SAFE) and assessed by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). In total, 45 compounds were detected using GC-O, of which 31 were identified. The majority of the components were common in both samples, but the fatty acids, (pentanoic, octanoic, nonanoic, decanoic, butanoic and hexanoic acid), δ-decalactone and δ-octalactone were found in significantly higher concentrations in the whole milk. Methional (cooked potatoes aroma) and δ-decalactone (coconut aroma) had high flavour dilution factors (FD) only in whole milk. Furthermore, the most potent odorants detected in both samples were 2,4-decadienal (fried/potato crisps), 2,4-nonadienal (fried/potato crisps), 1-octen-3-one (mushroom) and an unknown compound with a medicinal odour.