Sensory perception is related to the rate of change of volatile concentration in-nose during eating of model gels

The relationship between perceived aroma and the volatile concentration mea sured in-nose was investigated during eating of a model food. Sensory ranki ng and time-intensity analysis (TI) were used to measure perceived aroma, w hile in-nose volatile concentration was monitored by atmospheric pressure i onization mass spectrometry, which produced time release data. A gelatine-s ucrose gel with a range of gelatine concentrations (2-8% w/w) and flavoured with furfuryl acetate was used as the model food. Sensory scaling showed d ecreased flavour intensities and T1 showed a decrease in the flavour percei ved over time, as the gelatine concentration increased. Studies in model sy stems and in people demonstrated that the different rates of release observ ed for different gelatine concentrations were not due to binding of volatil e to protein in the gel, nor to mucous membranes, but were due to different rates of gel breakdown in-mouth. There were no significant differences in the maximum in-nose volatile concentrations for the different gelatine conc entrations, so the amount of volatile present did not correlate well with t he sensory analysis. However, the rates of volatile release were different for the different gels and showed a good correlation with sensory data.