Aromameter reveals loss of taste in fruit and veg

A tomato in the fridge loses its flavour, fast and for good. This is shown by measurements taken with a new piece of equipment developed by Wageningen UR to identify aromas quickly and precisely. The instrument resembles a jam jar containing what looks like a set of false teeth which can automatically chew on a fruit sample. As the chewing progresses, aromas are released which are immediately captured and measured with analyzing equipment (the PTR-MS, Proton Transfer Reaction ? Mass Spectrometry)). ?You can track the release of the aromas from one second to the next,? says project coordinator Ernst Woltering of Wageningen UR. The results tie in with aroma measurements coming straight from the mouths of chewing human beings. One of the things the equipment shows up is the effect of storing tomatoes in the fridge ? something many people still do. After only a couple of hours in the cold, the flavour profile of the tomato is irreversibly changed. ?The number of aromas goes down and the ratio between them changes.? Flavour is important in products such as tomatoes, cucumbers, apples and strawberries. And there is a lot more to flavor than just sweet or sour. ?Taste is 50 to 80 percent determined by aromatic substances,? explains Woltering. ?This equipment identifies changes in aromas. The principle was already known but we are the first to make this technique suitable for use in measurements in fresh horticultural produce.? Companies can use the information gained to improve the handling of those products. The equipment could be of interest to plant breeding research as well. For example, it is known which varieties of strawberry are the tastiest. Those varieties have a particular aroma profile, which shows which aroma substances they contain and in what quantities. Woltering: ?In hybrid populations you can use our system to look for strawberries which fit that profile.? ? SourceWageningen World 1502More informationernst.woltering@wur.nl ?