Many customers prefer goji berry pulp, well-known for its high nutritional content, over fresh goji berries. However, there is limited research on its sensory lexicon and distinctive flavor compounds. This study focused on developing a sensory lexicon for goji berry pulp and characterizing its aroma by sensory and instrumental analysis. Sensory characteristics of goji berry pulp were evaluated by our established lexicon. A total of 83 aromatic compounds in goji berry pulp were quantified using HS-SPME-GC-Orbitrap-MS. By employing OAV in combination, we identified 17 aroma-active compounds as the key ingredients in goji berry pulp. Then, we identified the potentially significant contributors to the aroma of goji berry pulp by combining principal component analysis and partial least squares regression (PLSR) models of aroma compounds and sensory attributes, which included 3-ethylphenol, methyl caprylate, 2-hydroxy-4-methyl ethyl valerate, benzeneacetic acid, ethyl ester, hexanal, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, acetylpyrazine, butyric acid, 2-ethylhexanoic acid, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 1-pentanol, phenylethyl alcohol, and 2-nonanone. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving the quality control and processing technology of goji berry pulp.

Non-grapefruits with unique sensory properties and potential health benefits provide added value to fruit wine production. This study aimed to explore consumers’ fruit wine preferences and descriptors for the varied fruit wines. First, 234 consumers participated in an online survey concerning their preferences for different wines (grape, blueberry, hawthorn, goji, Rosa roxburghii, and apricot). In addition, their attitudes towards general health interests, food neophobia, alcoholic drinks, and sweetness were collected. Grape wine and blueberry wine were the most favored wines, and goji wine was the least liked fruit wine sample. Moreover, 89 consumers were invited to evaluate 10 commercial fruit wines by using partial projective mapping based on appearance, aroma, and flavor (including taste and mouthfeel) to obtain a comprehensive sensory characterization. Multifactor analysis results showed that consumers could differentiate the fruit wines. Participants preferred fruit wines with “sweet”, “sour”, and “balanced fragrance”, whereas “bitter”, “astringent”, “deep appearance”, and “medicinal fragrance” were not preferred. Attitudes toward health, food neophobia, alcohol, and sweetness had less influence than taste and aroma (sensory attributes) on the preferences for fruit wine products. More frequent self-reported wine usage resulted in higher consumption frequency and liking ratings compared to non-users. Overall, the main factors influencing consumer preference for fruit wines were the sensory characteristics of the products, especially the taste.

This paper clarifies the contribution of lactones and volatile phenols to the aroma of nongrape wine. A target method for the simultaneous determination of these two kinds of volatiles in nongrape wines was developed using headspace-solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with high-resolution gas chromatography-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (GC-Orbitrap-MS). A high-resolution mass spectrometry database including 12 lactones and 11 volatile phenols was established for qualitative accuracy. Different matrix-matched calibration standards should be prepared for specific samples due to the matrix effects. The method was successfully validated and applied in three nongrape wines. Hawthorn wine contained more lactones (δ/γ-hexalactone, δ/γ-nonalactone, δ/γ-decalactone, γ-undecalactone, δ/γ-dodecalactone, C10 massoia lactone, and whiskey lactone), while blueberry wine contained more volatile phenols (especially 4-vinylguaiacol and 4-ethylguiaiacol). Goji berry wines contained certain concentrations of δ-nonalactone, γ-nonalactone, δ-hexalactone, and 3-ethyl phenol. This study demonstrated that HS-SPME-GC-Orbitrap-MS can be applied for the accurate quantification of trace aroma compounds such as lactones and volatile phenols in fruit wines.

With the widespread use of sensory profiling methods in the food industry and the increasing demands of researchers on analytical techniques, rapid sensory analysis methods have emerged, one of which is Projective Mapping. Projective Mapping can quickly collect sensory attributes of products and analyze the similarity or difference of sensory characteristics among products, it can also be combined with preference questionnaires to distinguish people categories and explore the factors affecting consumer preferences. This paper examines the literature related to the Projective Mapping method in recent years, introduced the experimental procedure, influencing factors and data processing of the method, advantages and limitations, derivative methods and their research in different types of food products, and looks forward to the development of this method, in order to provide reference for researchers and enterprises infields related to food sensory evaluation.

The overall aroma is an important factor of the sensory quality of fruit wines, which attributed to hundreds of volatile compounds. However, the qualitative determination of trace volatile compounds is considered to be very challenging work. GC-Orbitrap-MS with high resolution and high sensitivity provided more possibilities for the determination of volatile compounds, but without the high-resolution mass spectral library. For accuracy of qualitative determination in fruit wines by GC-Orbitrap-MS, a high-resolution mass spectral library, including 76 volatile compounds, was developed in this study. Not only the HRMS spectrum but also the exact ion fragment, relative abundance, retention indices (RI), CAS number, chemical structure diagram, aroma description and aroma threshold (ortho-nasally) were provided and were shown in a database website (Food Flavor Laboratory, http://foodflavorlab.cn/ ). HRMS library was used to successfully identify the volatile compounds mentioned above in 16 fruit wines (5 blueberry wines, 6 goji berry wines and 5 hawthorn wines). The library was developed as an important basis for further understanding of trace volatile compounds in fruit wines.

Sensory lexicon is a standardized vocabulary used to help different populations communicate about sensory issues. This paper reviews the process of building a sensory lexicon, which consists of four main steps: preparing samples and training personnel, generating an initial lexicon, discussing the initial lexicon and giving definitions and references, and verifying the validity of the lexicon. The specific operations and requirements of each of the four steps are described, and the development of a sensory lexicon for food and beverages over the past decade is summarized. The development of the lexicon has facilitated the standardization of sensory descriptors and the communication between the sensory community, the food manufacturing industry and consumers. In future developments, sensory lexicon building methods may be upgraded by combining them with chemical analysis, data mining techniques such as natural language processing, etc., and their application areas will tend to diversify.

多重因子分析是一种多元统计分析手段,能够用于描述和总结具有复杂结构和多方来源的多元数据.该方法同主成分分析具有密切联系,在食品、饮料和化妆品的感官分析以及市场调查、流行病学、生态学等领域广泛应用.本文主要介绍了多重因子分析方法的原理和步骤,并结合近年来已经报道的研究和案例描述,并总结了该方法在分析投影地图或Napping数据、自由选择剖面数据以及通过挖掘感官数据和喜好数据探索消费者喜好驱动因素的分析上的应用,以期对感官分析从业者和相关领域科学研究人员提供借鉴.