Key odorants of a Moroccan fermented milk product “Lben” using aroma extract dilution analysis

Lben is one of the main dairy products in Morocco, which broadly plays a significant role in food industry due to its nutritional, taste, aroma and health features. Aroma is a main quality factor for this kind of fermented dairy products. In this study, aroma compounds were extracted by four different methods. According to the sensory analysis, solvent-assisted flavor evaporation exhibited the most representative and reproducible method of Lben matrices. In general, a total of 24 volatile compounds were found for the first time in Lben, including aldehyde, alcohols, acids, esters, and ketones. The Lben characteristic aroma was characterized by 15 odour-active compounds using the application of the aroma extract dilution analysis. On the basis of flavor dilution (FD) results, butanoic acid (FD = 1024, ripened cheese), acetoin (FD = 512, buttery-creamy), 2-heptanol (FD = 512, fatty) and hexanoic acid (FD = 512, cheesy-goat) were the most powerful key odorants in Lben.