Novel analytical tools for food flavours

In order to understand the flavour of (traditional) foods a multitude of scientific investigations were carried out and a number of appropriate analytical tools for flavour research were developed in the past few decades. This paper gives a brief overview of the wide range of this aroma research, takes stock of analytical methods, scientific objectives, obtainable results, and conclusions drawn for the present, and assesses the outlook for possibly attainable aims and novel analytical tools in the future of aroma research. Different isolation techniques for odorants, their aroma characterizations, and quantification methods are taken into consideration as are studies on interactions between food matrices and volatiles, the human perception of odour-active compounds, interactions between receptors and odorants, or the prospects for electronic noses. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.