NONVOLATILE FLAVOR COMPONENTS OF PEANUTS

The texture and sweet taste of raw peanuts are changed relatively little during roasting and they contribute significantly to the over-all flavor sensation obtained from roasted peanuts. Roastednutty character of roasted peanuts results largely from the reactions of reducing sugars, liberated from sucrose, with free amino acids. The majority of these amino acids are released from a large peptide during roasting. The biogenesis of this peptide and phenylalanine coincides with the maturation process which is necessary for development of good roasted peanut flavor. Biogenesis of sucrose and glutamic acid are positively correlated with maturation only in the latter half of the season. Work in model systems using 14C-glucose has shown that many of the pyrazines of roasted peanuts can arise from the glucose, fructose, and free amino acids found in raw peanuts. © 1969, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.