Partial Characterization of the Flavors of Oxidized Butteroil

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Butteroil was oxidized at 40[degree] C and distilled in a falling-film molecular still. The volatile flavor components were trapped in a U-tube cooled with liquid N and the flavor was extracted from the trap contents with a few drops of petroleum ether. The flavor concentrate was then fractionated by gas phase chromatography, using butanediol succinate polymer as a stationary phase. Most of the compounds in the distillate were carbonyl compounds and were indentified by their retention times in the gas chromatograph and by paper chromatography of their 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones. The fractions from the gas chromatograph were also incorporated into milk and butter and judged organoleptically. It was found that the carbonyl compounds produced in relatively large amounts made only a limited contribution to the oxidized flavor. The main contributor to the characteristic oxidized flavor seemed to be a minor component which was present in amounts too small to be detected by gas chromatography or paper chromatography. This component came out in the vicinity of octanal and a-heptenal. This same flavor component can be found in the flavor concentrates from linseed, saf-flower, and herring oils. From the fatty acid composition of these oils, it appears that linoleic acid is the probable precursor of the component primarily responsible for the oxidized flavor. Reactions with various carbonyl reagents indicate that the compound responsible for the oxidized flavor is a carbonyl compound.