Flavors and Nutrition in Beverages: Formation Mechanisms, Interactions, and Stabilizations

Book excerpt: Flavor is an important evaluation indicator of beverage quality and has a significant impact on product quality ratings and consumer preferences. The variety and content of volatile and non-volatile compounds are the main reasons for flavor differences in beverages, while the type of raw materials and processing methods will affect the final flavors of the products. There are many kinds of beverages with a complex aroma and taste components. Accurate analysis of such volatile and non-volatile sensory substances is the key to studying their gustatory characteristic. There are hundreds of volatile components in beverages, mainly including aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, acids, and sulfur-containing compounds. In order to systematically study the chemical nature of the inherent aroma of beverages and their flavor formation mechanisms, it is necessary to focus on revealing the metabolic pathways of the key aroma substances at the molecular level. Additionally, it is important to explore the interactions between beverage matrices and aromas, as well as the elimination mechanisms for off-flavor formations. It is proposed that the combination of modern instrumental analysis with molecular sensory science, and in-depth discussions of the aroma formation pathways and aroma release mechanisms in beverages is a major focus of future aroma research.