Flavor of roasted peanuts (Arachis hypogaea) - Part II: Correlation of volatile compounds to sensory characteristics

•The chemical fingerprint of several sensory flavor attributes was determined.•Both positively and negatively correlated headspace volatiles were identified.•A logarithmic transformation on the concentrations was used to increase the fit.•Color is correlated to roasted flavor but the correlation is not universal.

Flavor and color of roasted peanuts are important research areas due to their significant influence on consumer preference. The aim of the present study was to explore correlations between sensory attributes of peanuts, volatile headspace compounds and color parameters. Different raw peanuts were selected to be representative of common market types, varieties, growing locations and grades used in Europe. Peanuts were roasted by a variety of processing technologies, resulting in 134 unique samples, which were analyzed for color, volatile composition and flavor profile by expert panel. Several headspace volatile compounds which positively or negatively correlated to “roasted peanut”, “raw bean”, “dark roast” and “sweet” attributes were identified. Results demonstrated that the correlation of CIELAB color parameters with roast related aromas, often taken for granted by the industry, is not strong when samples of different raw materials are subjected to different processing conditions.

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