Aroma compounds in sweet whey powder

Aroma compounds in sweet whey powder were investigated in this study. Volatiles were isolated by solvent extraction followed by solvent-assisted flavor evaporation. Fractionation was used to separate acidic from nonacidic volatiles. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/olfactometry were used for the identification of aroma compounds. Osme methodology was applied to assess the relative importance of each aroma compound. The most aroma-intense free fatty acids detected were acetic, propanoic, butanoic, hexanoic, heptanoic, octanoic, decanoic, dodecanoic, and 9-decenoic acids. The most aroma-intense nonacidic compounds detected were hexanal, heptanal, nonanal, phenylacetaldehyde, 1-octen-3-one, methional, 2,6-dimethylpyrazine, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, furfuryl alcohol, p-cresol, 2-acetylpyrrole, maltol, furaneol, and several lactones. This study suggested that the aroma of whey powder could comprise compounds originating from milk, compounds generated by the starter culture during cheese making, and compounds formed during the manufacturing process of whey powder.