Sensomics-Assisted Flavor Decoding of Dairy Model Systems and Flavor Reconstitution Experiments

The whole sensometabolome of a typical dairy milk dessert was decoded to potentially serve as a blueprint for further flavor optimization steps of functional fat-reduced food. By applying the sensomics approach, a wide range of different dairy volatiles, semi and nonvolatiles, were analyzed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with or without derivatization presteps. While for volatile sulfur compounds with low odor thresholds, headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography was established, abundant carbohydrates and organic acids were quantified by quantitative ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Validated quantitation, sensory reconstitution, and omission studies highlighted eight flavor-active compounds, namely, diacetyl, δ-tetra-, δ-hexa-, and δ-octadecalactone, sucrose, galactose, lactic acid, and citric acid as indispensable for flavor recombination. Furthermore, eight odorants (acetaldehyde, acetic acid, butyric acid, methanethiol, phenylacetic acid, dimethyl sulfide, acetoin, and hexanoic acid), all with odor activity values >1, additionally contributed to the overall flavor blueprint. Within this work, a dairy flavor analytical toolbox covering four different high-throughput methods could successfully be established showing potential for industrial applications.