2017 Volume 64 Issue 10 Pages 502-506
Two cured vanilla beans having different harvest maturities were compared by sensory evaluation and Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA). Based on the sensory evaluation, the mature vanilla possessed sweeter, less sour, and less hay-like notes than the immature group. The AEDA result suggested the compounds contributing to each aroma characteristic, for example, vanillin, 2-methoxyphenol, isovaleric acid and 3-methyl-2,4-nonanedione. Among these, the flavor dilution (FD) factor of vanillin was the highest in each vanilla and significantly differed according to maturity. A further study of β-glucosidase in green vanilla, related to vanillin formation, revealed that the mature vanilla exhibited greater activity than the immature group. These results suggested that enzymatic activity is an important factor in differences in the aroma characteristics between mature and immature vanilla beans.
