Porous polymer trapping for GC/MS analysis of volatile flavor compounds in corn

Graduation date: 1978Flavor profiles of canned and frozen whole kernel sweet corn were\ud obtained by entraining the volatile compounds on Porapak 0 traps and\ud by subsequent analysis on temperature-programed, 500' by 0.03" ID\ud capillary columns (SF-96 or Carbowax 20M). Identification was based\ud on GC/MS data, retention indices (I[subscript E]'s) and retention times. The new\ud compounds identified in canned corn included pyridine, methional,\ud dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethyl sulfone. Various sulfur, nitrogen and\ud nitrogen-sulfur heterocyclic compounds were also present as previously\ud mentioned by Libbey et al. (I). Qualitative and quantitative varietal\ud differences were observed in both frozen and canned samples. Many of\ud these compounds were typical of roasted foods, such as nuts or\ud roasted meats, and were not found to any extent in samples of frozen\ud or fresh corn. New compounds found in frozen corn included acetoin,\ud 3-methyl-2-cyclohexenone and dimethyl sulfone. Various model systems\ud were heated to simulate the canning process of sweet corn. Mixtures\ud of water, sugars and sulfur-containing amino acids produced the\ud most corn-like aromas. Systems containing glutamic acid, asparagine,\ud proline, aspartic acid and other amino acids produced earthy, parsnip\ud or vegetable notes. Pyrazines, furans and thiophenes were among the\ud compounds identified. Other experiments were conducted to elucidate\ud mechanisms of flavor formation and to simulate sweet corn flavor