Potent odorants in "smen", a traditional fermented butter product

Potent odorants in a sample of traditional Moroccan smen were characterized by an aroma extract dilution analysis. In the acidic fraction, butanoic ac id followed by hexanoic acid showed the highest flavor dilution (FD)-factor s. Further quantitative determination of both acids in the same sample reve aled high concentrations, in the g/kg level. In contrast, the low FD-factor s found for the volatiles detected in the neutral fraction suggest that the y contribute little to overall flavor. Butanoic and hexanoic acids are like ly the key odorants of smen flavor, which is consistent with lipolysis bein g the primary mechanism of aroma development in the product.