William Atkins
Friday, 21 November 2008 20:58
Science -
Biology
Page 1 of 2
A Swiss study has found that the flavors we enjoy in fruits and vegetables, such as wine, onions, and peppers, come from anaerobic mouth bacteria ("mouth bugs") that work on odorless parts of such foods. It may sound gross but it sure pleases the palate!
The article “
Olfactory Perception of Cysteine−S-Conjugates from Fruits and Vegetables” was published online on September 24, 2008 in the
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Its authors—Christian Starkenmann, Benedicte Le Calvé, Yvan Niclass, Isabelle Cayeux, Sabine Beccucci, and Myriam Troccaz—are all from the Corporate Research and Development Division of
Firmenich SA, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, an international producer of flavors and perfumes.
The researchers used thirty taste-trained panelists to evaluate the tastes (odor intensities) coming from wine, onions, and peppers.
They state in the abstract to their paper:
“Volatile sulfur compounds have a low odor threshold, and their presence at microgram per kilogram levels in fruits and vegetables influences odor quality.”
In other words, certain sulfur-containing compounds within fruits and vegetables are basically odorless but have a tremendous influence on the way people perceive the taste of such foods.
The Swiss researchers continue:
“Sensory analysis demonstrates that naturally occurring, odorless cysteine−S-conjugates such as S-(R/S)-3-(1-hexanol)-L-cysteine in wine, S-(1-propyl)-L-cysteine in onion, and S-((R/S)-2-heptyl)-L-cysteine in bell pepper are transformed into volatile thiols in the mouth by microflora.”
Page two continues this tasty article.
