KEY ODORANTS OF FRENCH FRIES

Twenty-one compounds, which had been screened in preceding experiments as potent odorants of french fries prepared in palm oil (PO), were qu antified by stable isotope dilution assays. Nineteen odorants were dis solved in sun flower oil in concentrations equal to those in PO. The f avor profile of the model obtained was close to that of a real sample of PO. A comparison of the complete model with models lacking one or m ore compounds indicated the following key odorants of PO: 2-ethyl-3,5- dimethylpyrazine, 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-diethyl-5-methylpy razine, 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine, (E,Z)- and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, methylpropanal, 2- and 3-methylbutanal, and methanethiol. Replacement of palm oil by coconut fat led to a coconut note in the profile of Fr ench fries. gamma-Octalactone was identified as a major contributor to this note.