Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine a method for the identification of aroma volatile compounds in freeze-dried (FD) strawberries and raspberries for quality purposes. The aroma profile was examined using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). FD strawberries and raspberries were extracted at four different times (10,15, 20 and 30 min) and three different temperatures (40 °C, 60 °C and 80 °C) using a SPME fiber coated with 50/30 µm divinylbenzene/carboxen on polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR-PDMS) to determine optimum recoveries for aroma volatile compounds. The DVB/CAR-PDMS SPME fiber showed the best extraction of aroma volatile compounds from strawberry and raspberry at 60°C for 15 min. Twenty-nine volatile compounds were identified from the strawberry samples and 20 from the raspberry samples, including terpenes, aldehydes, esters, acids and alcohols. Select aroma compounds in FD strawberries and raspberries were quantitated using SPME and GC-MS. It is important to determine the desirable aroma active compounds in freeze-dried strawberries and raspberries for quality uses since they are becoming popular commercially.

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