Comparison of the aromatic profile of traditional and modern types of Huang Jiu (Chinese rice wine) by aroma extract dilution analysis and chemical analysis

Abstract

AbstractThe differences in aroma profiles between traditional and modern types of Huang Jiu (Chinese rice wine) have been evaluated by sensory evaluation, comparative aroma extract dilution analysis (cAEDA), and chemical analysis. Sensory analysis revealed that traditional Huang Jiu has a higher overall aroma intensity than modern Huang Jiu, with contributions from the significantly higher intensity of the Qu aroma, as well as smoky, caramel notes. The cAEDA revealed 34 and 22 odor‐active regions with flavor dilution (FD) factors of ≥64 for the traditional and modern types of Huang Jiu, respectively. Twenty‐six odor‐active regions were detected with higher FD factors in traditional Huang Jiu. A total of 34 aroma compounds were then quantitatively measured in different types of Huang Jiu, and their odor activity values (OAVs) were calculated. The compounds with the highest OAVs in both types of Huang Jiu were 3‐methylbutanoic acid, vanillin, phenylacetaldehyde, ethyl hexanoate, and ethyl butanoate. The OAVs of benzaldehyde, geosmin, γ‐decalactone, and phenol were greater than 1 in traditional Huang Jiu, but less than 1 in modern types of Huang Jiu. These results revealed that the different sensory characteristics of the two types of Huang Jiu can be explained by the significantly different levels of benzaldehyde, vanillin, sotolon, geosmin, and phenolic compounds.