Sweetness is a crucial taste component in Baijiu. However, comprehensive research on the sweetness of Baijiu remains limited, and traditional methods for flavor analysis are not well-suited for identifying the sweet compounds. To address this, a multi-stage molecular distillation method, combined with molecular sensory science, was developed to more effectively and scientifically analyze the key sweet compounds in Baijiu. The recovery rates of samples and compounds were 93.8 % ~ 98.3 % and 81.6 % ~ 118.3 %. 15 important compounds with a taste dilution factor (TD) value ≥64 were identified through gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) combined with taste dilution analysis (TDA). By calculating their taste activity values (TAV), 10 primary sweet compounds with TAV ≥1 were determined. Further taste recombination and omission experiments confirmed that ethyl hexanoate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl octanoate, ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, 1-butanol, phenethyl alcohol, and ethyl acetate contribute significantly to Baijiu's sweetness and are identified as the key sweet compounds.

中文翻译：

---

分子蒸馏结合分子感官科学分离表征白酒中甜味化合物


甜味是白酒中至关重要的味道成分。然而，对白酒甜味的全面研究仍然有限，传统的风味分析方法并不适合鉴定甜味化合物。为了解决这个问题，开发了一种多阶段分子蒸馏方法，结合分子感官科学，以更有效、更科学地分析白酒中的关键甜味化合物。样品和化合物的回收率分别为 93.8 % ~ 98.3 % 和 81.6 % ~ 118.3 %。通过气相色谱-质谱 （GC-MS） 结合味觉稀释分析 （TDA） 鉴定出 15 种味道稀释因子 （TD） 值为 ≥64 的重要化合物。通过计算它们的味觉活性值 （TAV），确定了 10 种 TAV 为 ≥1 的初级甜味化合物。进一步的口味重组和省略实验证实，己酸乙酯、庚酸乙酯、辛酸乙酯、2-甲基丁酸乙酯、1-丁醇、苯乙醇和乙酸乙酯对白酒的甜味有显著贡献，被确定为关键的甜味化合物。