Abstract
Herbs, including basil, are used to enhance the flavor of food products around the world. Its potential is influenced by the quality of fresh herbs and processing practices, wherein conditions of heat treatment play an important role. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of sous-vide heat treatment on the volatile compounds profile, sensory quality, and color of basil infusions. The material used for research was aqueous basil infusion prepared conventionally at 100 °C, and using the sous-vide method (65, 75, and 85 °C). The composition of volatile compounds was identified by GC/MS analysis, the sensory profile was assessed using a group of trained panelists, while the color was instrumentally assessed in the CIE Lab system. No significant differences were found in the intensity of the taste and aroma of basil infusions at different temperatures. Seventy headspace volatile compounds were identified in the analyzed samples, ten of which exceeded 2% of relative area percentage. The most abundant compounds were eucalyptol (27.1%), trans-ocimene (11.0%), β-linalool (9.2%), and β-myrcene (6.7%). Most of the identified compounds belonged to the terpenes and alcohols groups. Our findings show that the conventional herbal infusion was more like a sous-vide infusion prepared at the lowest temperature SV65, while SV75 and SV85 were similar to each other but different from the conventional. However, a smaller number of volatile compounds in the samples heated at higher temperatures of sous-vide were identified. The sous-vide samples showed a higher content of alkanes. The sous-vide method (p ≤ 0.05) resulted in darker, less green, and less yellow basil leaves than fresh and traditionally steeped ones. Long heat treatment under vacuum at higher temperatures causes a pronounced change in the aroma composition.
Highlights
Herbs play an important role as natural flavoring substances during food processing
A smaller share was identified in the samples heated at higher temperatures; SV75 and SV85 (82.6–83.0%), which results from the significant number of high-molecular compounds from the package accumulated in the headspace
In terms of the volatile composition as well as flavor and odor intensities, a traditionally infused sample was more like a sous-vide infusion cooked at the lowest temperature; SV65, while SV75 was more similar to SV85, as shown by the contrary location of these samples relative to the OX X-axis
Summary
Herbs play an important role as natural flavoring substances during food processing. Application of the herb maceration and the infusion processes, and a medium that is a solvent (e.g., water, alcohol, and fat), enable herb wines, herbal tea infusions, aromatized vinegar, and oils commonly used for products like bread or vegetables to be made [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The popularity of herb macerates (e.g., for flavored oils in cooking or herb syrups in mixology) in the foodservice industry, as well as herbal infusions among consumers, has significantly increased [7]. They are used for seasoning or hedonic reasons and as a source of harmless natural antioxidants [8]. Herbal infusions are usually prepared by steeping the dried aromatic parts of plants such as roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and other elements in hot or boiling water. Herbal infusions are widely used in the treatment of diverse disease conditions [10]
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