Assessment of aroma impact compounds in a cashew apple-based alcoholic beverage by GC-MS and GC-olfactometry

The alcoholic fermentation of cashew apple juice has been investigated as an attempt to develop a novel alcoholic beverage, alternative to wine. The objective of this study was to determine the volatile compounds in this beverage and their role in the aroma. Compounds from the headspace were swept to a Porapak Q trap for 2 h by suction and eluted from the polymer with acetone, separated by HRGC and identified by GC-MS. Five experienced assessors evaluated the GC effluents in three replicates using Osme GC-olfactometry technique. Fermented, fruity and cashew were the beverage primary aroma descriptors. GC-MS and Osme analysis revealed that the esters methyl 3-methyl butyrate, ethyl 3-methyl butyrate, methyl butyrate, ethyl butyrate, trans-ethyl crotonate and methyl 3-methyl pentanoate were important to the sweet, fruity and cashew-like aroma of the beverage. The most unpleasant odor was due to 2-methyl butanoic acid, which was described as sweaty.