Aroma perception in dairy products: the roles of texture, aroma release and consumer physiology. A review

Aroma perception is a determinant factor in food choices and acceptability by consumers. To be perceived, aroma compounds must be released in the mouth during food breakdown, transferred into the nasal cavity to reach the olfactory receptor and then be perceived. So, in order to control aroma perception, knowledge of the main factors that can influence in-mouth aroma release is of major importance. Focusing on dairy products, this review article investigates the factors due to: (i) food products, and mainly the influence of food composition and structure on aroma retention and release; (ii) the inter-individual variability of subjects, mainly chewing behaviour, saliva rate and composition and their influence on aroma release; and (iii) the interactions between food products and subjects and their impact on aroma release and perception. We also discuss the various instrumental and sensory methodologies that are often used to study aroma-texture interactions in dairy products, with particular focus on articles that compare in vivo aroma release and perception in dairy products. This review emphasizes that the relationship existing between in vivo aroma release and perception in dairy products is strongly dependent on the type of texture relative to two mechanisms; physicochemical mechanisms based on the modification of aroma release and a cognitive mechanism based on aroma-taste-texture interactions. These two mechanisms exist simultaneously but have more or less impact on aroma perception, depending on the type of texture

Étude des interactions texture-arômes dans des matrices fromagères: approche physicochimique et sensorielle

National audienc

Inter-individual differences in breath-by-breath aroma release data

International audienc

In Vivo Aroma Release of Milk Gels of Different Hardnesses: Inter-individual Differences and Their Consequences on Aroma Perception

International audienceThe effect of textural modifications of solid milk gels on in vivo aroma release and aroma perceptionwas investigated with a panel of 14 subjects. Great inter-individual differences were observed onaroma-release data, and the consequences of these differences on aroma perception were studied.From a hierarchical cluster analysis performed with several parameters extracted from release curves,the subjects were gathered into two groups, and a specific aroma-release profile was identified foreach one. Then, by using a sensory profile, we showed that the intensity of the aroma perceptionwas dependent on the release profile presented by the panelist. Second, we observed that, duringthe chewing phase, the aroma was perceived as more intense for the firmer gel and for panelists forwhom the aroma release begins during the chewing of the product

In vivo aroma release measurements and sensory perception of flavoured milk proteins gels

International audienceThree mixed milk gels with different structures were formulated. The addition of increasingconcentration of chymosin resulted in an increase in gel hardness evaluated by penetrometrymeasurements. The in vivo release of aroma compounds from these gels was studied byAtmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionisation - Mass Spectrometry (APCI-MS) in Nosespaceconfiguration and with a panel of fourteen subjects. Aroma release was found to be stronglyaffected by structure variation. An increase in gel hardness resulted in an increase in theamount and the rate of aroma release. In parallel, sensory analysis was performed using theprofile method. Data treatment revealed that the different structures were perceived at thesensory level and could be described with numerous texture attributes. Intensity of saltperception was found to decrease from the softer to the harder gel. Overall aroma perceptionpresented a tendency to decrease with gel hardness. Aroma perception could not be correlatedwith aroma release parameters, and cross-modal interactions were not excluded to explainresults

Effet de la texture de gels riches en protéines sur la libération et la perception des arômes / Modification de la structure et impact sur la libération et la perception des arômes. Application à des systèmes fromagers modèles

 Partenaires industriels : Fromageries Bel / Soredab / AromalyseL’objectif de notre travail est d’étudier les interactions texture-arôme au sein de matrices riches en protéines. Pour cela, nous avons mis au point trois matrices type « fromage frais » de compositions identiques mais ayant des textures significativement différentes. Ces matrices, à base de protéines de lait, sont obtenues par gélification lactique ou mixte avec différentes doses de présure, et sont aromatisées avec un arôme « fromage » contenant dix composés. A partir de ces matrices caractérisées rhéologiquement, une étude « Nosespace » a été réalisée par APCI-MS (Spectrométrie de Masse avec Ionisation Chimique à Pression Atmosphérique). Cette méthode consiste à analyser en continu la composition des effluves nasales expirées par le sujet et permet ainsi de suivre la libération des composés d’arôme au cours de la consommation des matrices. Un profil sensoriel a également été réalisé afin de décrire les perceptions de texture, saveur et arôme générées par la consommation de ces produits. Les résultats de l’APCI-MS montrent de nettes différences de composition des effluves nasales en fonction de la texture de la matrice. Plus la matrice est ferme (formules mixtes), plus la libération des molécules d’arôme est importante, mais plus elle semble être lente au cours de la consommation du produit. Le profil sensoriel a lui montré des perceptions significativement différentes au niveau de la texture et de certaines saveurs, mais pas de l’arôme. La tendance irait néanmoins dans le sens d’une perception plus intense de l’arôme avec la matrice la moins ferme (formule lactique). La comparaison des résultats obtenus par chacune des méthodes nous amène à supposer que les faibles différences observées sur la perception de l’arôme sont peut-être liées à des cinétiques de libération des composés d’arôme un peu différentes en fonction de la structure du produit

Modification de structure et impact sur la libération et la perception des arômes (application à des systèmes fromagers modèles)

L objectif de cette thèse était de caractériser l impact d une modification de la structure d un aliment sur la libération et la perception des arômes. Trois modèles fromagers de fermetés différentes ont pour cela été formulés. Par des mesures nosespace en spectrométrie de masse, qui consistent à analyser en continu l air expiré par les narines du sujet au cours de la consommation d un aliment, nous avons montré que la libération des composés d arôme était plus rapide et plus importante pour les gels les plus fermes. Par un profil sensoriel, nous avons montré que la perception aromatique était plus faible pour les gels les plus fermes. La modification du profil de libération in vivo des composés d arôme induite par une modification de la structure des gels protéiques ne permet donc pas d expliquer la variation de l intensité aromatique perçue entre les trois gels. L hypothèse d un mécanisme cognitif a été proposée pour expliquer l effet de la structure sur la perception aromatique.The objective of the present work was to study the impact of structural variations on the release of aroma compounds and on aroma perception. To achieve this purpose, three models of fresh cheeses were prepared. Nosespace experiments, which consist in the analysis by mass spectrometry of air expired from the nose during food consumption, showed that a higher quantity of aroma compounds was released from harder gels. The release of aroma compounds was also faster for these harder gels. Sensory profile of cheeses showed that the intensity of perceived aroma was lower for the harder gels. Therefore, we could not establish a link between aroma perception and in vivo aroma release parameters. The hypothesis of a cognitive interaction between texture and aroma perception was proposed to explain the impact of structural variations on aroma perception.DIJON-BU Sciences Economie (212312102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Impact of Hardness of Model Fresh Cheese on Aroma Release: In Vivo and in Vitro Study

International audienceUsing atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry, aroma release was investigatedin vivo and in vitro from three cheese-like gels with different hardnesses. In vivo, nosespaceexperiments were performed with 14 subjects. Results showed that the harder gel induced a greaterand a faster release of all aroma compounds. In vitro, aroma release was followed in a mouth simulatorwhere breakdown was mechanically produced. The same rate of stirring was applied to the threegels. In these conditions, we found that the amount of aroma released from the three gels was notdiscriminant. Thus, modification of gel structure had a strong impact on in vivo aroma release, butstructural variations alone were not sufficient to induce a greater release. Natural breakdown providedby panelists during food consumption and adapted to the texture of the food was proposed to be thekey parameter affecting in vivo aroma release