A LEXICON FOR GREEN ODOR OR FLAVOR AND CHARACTERISTICS OF CHEMICALS ASSOCIATED WITH GREEN

ABSTRACT The sensory characteristic “green” has been used frequently in descriptive sensory analyses of various foods. A six‐member highly trained descriptive panel determined that “green” is not a single characteristic, but can have several different manifestations. Generally, green can be characterized as unripe, peapod, grassy/leafy, viney, fruity or combinations of those. Additional attributes that were important to the green character included musty/earthy, pungent, bitter, overall sweet and floral. This research also examined the odor characteristics of 22 chemicals in concentrations from 1 to 100,000 ppm. Thirteen chemicals including aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, azoles and ester derivatives had been reported to have green aroma. Nine additional ester derivatives, containing a six carbon core similar to hexanal, were included. Most chemicals tested were found to be green at concentrations of 1,000 ppm and higher. Green‐grassy/leafy was the most common green note and musty/earthy and pungent were frequent green adjunct aromas. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Because “green” notes have been used commonly to describe the characteristics of many food products, especially, fruits and vegetables, it is important to understand the types of green characteristics present in products. Prior literature has suggested various chemicals may be responsible for green, suggesting that there could be different types of green notes. A better understanding of “green” aromas and flavors can help researchers better describe specific sensory characteristics and make improvements to products where green impacts the sensory properties, either positively or negatively.