Sulfur-Containing Compounds in Butter and their Influence on Butter Aroma

The odor-active compounds of four sour cream butters were analyzed by GC-MS/FID-Sniffing, using HS-SPME extraction, and by GC/pulsed flame photometric detection (PFPD), using headspace extraction (HS) to focus on the most volatile sulfur compounds. 2-Methyl-3-furanethiol (meaty odor), methional (potato-like), dipropyl disulfide (garlic-like), and dimethyl trisulfide (mature cheese-like) were important odor-active compounds of the butter samples. The gas phase recombination of the aroma profile of the butter samples was performed using the virtual aroma synthesizer (VAS®). Finally, the evaluation of recombined butter aromas by quantitative descriptive sensory analysis allowed investigation of the influence of the volatile sulfur compounds on butter aroma.