Lemon oil quality is affected by numerous factors including lemon variety, climate,
soil type, extraction method, etc.. Therefore, quality largely depends upon the lemons'
origin, and aroma profiles of oils obtained throughout the world have potential to vary
considerably. This research was conducted to identify differences in the aroma profiles of
lemon oil samples from a variety of sources (Argentina, Brazil, California coast, California
desert, Spain, South Africa). Two sensory methods commonly used to identify such
differences are descriptive analysis and gas chromatography/olfactometry (GCO).
A trained sensory panel identified significant differences (p<0.05) in the aroma
profiles of the nine tested lemon oils in terms of overall intensity, peel, lime, orange, and
sweet aromas. While descriptive analysis is useful in identifying perceived product
differences, it does not provide information regarding the chemical components
responsible for product differences.
GCO is an effective method for identifying a flavor system's important odorants and
their odor quality, but there are numerous methods by which it may be performed. Two
different GCO methods, Osme and aroma extract dilution analysis with flavor dilution
(FD) factors, were used to analyze cold-pressed lemon oil, and results obtained from each
method were compared. Conclusions drawn from each method regarding the most critical
odorants were slightly different, and better agreement among subjects was found to be
present with Osme.
Upon concluding that Osme provides a less variable method of identifying critical
odorants, the relationship between Osme and descriptive analysis data was examined to
determine if samples were characterized similarly by both sensory methods.
Considerable agreement between methods was evident. In addition, neral, geranial,
limonene, linalool, and gamma-terpinene were identified as important base contributors to
lemon oil aroma. / Graduation date: 1998
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/27653 |
| Date | 02 September 1997 |
| Creators | Young, Sheri L. |
| Contributors | McDaniel, Mina R. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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