Characterization of Spanish ciders by means of chemical and olfactometric profiles and chemometrics

A comparative study of the aroma (volatile composition and olfactometric profiles) of Asturian and Basque still ciders in two maturation stages was conducted. Among the major volatile compounds, amyl alcohols, ethyl lactate and ethyl acetate were quantitatively relevant in all of the ciders studied. The minor fraction mainly consisted of fatty acids, volatile phenols and alcohols. Three PLS-discriminant models with low prediction errors were constructed. When the volatile composition was used, ciders could be differentiated by their maturation stage, 4-ethylcatechol being strongly associated to matured ciders. The olfactometric profiles allowed the classification of ciders according to both their origin and maturation stage. Odorants such as p-cresol and a sweet-character unknown component were correlated to origin of ciders, whereas 1-octen-3-one and one unknown spicy-vegetal odorant were highly correlated to the maturation stage.