Comparison of volatile compounds isolated from the skin and flesh of four potato cultivars after baking

Four potato cultivars, Cara, Nadine, Fianna, and Marfona, were selected. Po tatoes mere baked in their skins prior to separating the skin and flesh and preparing extracts of the volatile flavor compounds using a modified Liken s-Nickerson apparatus. The concentrated extracts were analyzed by gas chrom atography-mass spectrometry. Volatiles were identified and classified accor ding to their origin, that is, Lipid, sugar degradation and/or Maillard rea ction not involving sulfur amino acids, sulfur compounds, methoxypyrazines, and other compounds. Quantitative and qualitative differences were observe d between isolates from flesh and skins and among cultivars grown at differ ent sites. Strongest isolates from skin were obtained for Nadine. For flesh , Cara gave isolates similar to 10-fold more concentrated than the other th ree cultivars. For skin, sugar degradation and/or the Maillard reaction was by far the most important source in all cultivars except Nadine, for which 62% of the volatiles were accounted for by the sesquiterpene solavetivone. Lipid and sugar degradation and/or the Maillard reaction were the main ori gins of volatiles in flesh. Calculated aroma values for a selection of the key potato volatiles identified reinforce the effects of cultivar and growi ng site on baked potato flavor.