Microencapsulation of the Aroma from Capsicum chinense Jacq. cv. Habanero

An aroma distillate with the odour note described as ‘fresh Habanero chilli pepper’ was obtained from hydrodistillation of the fruit. GC-MS analysis of the volatile constituents from the aroma distillate allowed the identification of 100 compounds, most of them esters followed by aldehydes, alcohols, terpenes, ketones, and acids. Encapsulation process of the aroma distillate by spray drying was optimised using response surface methodology. Independent variables were inlet air temperature (150–200 °C) and carrier (maltodextrin 10 DE and gum arabic in 2:1 ratio) content (10–20% wb), while response variables were powder moisture and volatiles retention. Moisture content of the powder varied inversely proportional to the air temperature, while the volatile retention was directly related. Retention of volatiles in the powder increased when the carrier content increased, while this factor negatively affected moisture content. Based on the optimisation model of the response variables, the powder with the highest flavour quality was obtained with an air inlet temperature of 200 °C and 20% wb carrier content, with 4% moisture content and 88.6% volatiles retention