Influence of processing on the volatile profile of strawberry spreads made with isomaltulose.

A new strawberry spread formulated with fructose and isomaltulose (replacing sucrose partially or totally) and a high percentage of fruit was developed in line with the new trend of healthier products. This work studies the influence of some process variables (percentage of sugar, pectin and citric acid, and time of thermal treatment) on the volatile profile of these spreads with different formulations. The ripeness of the raw strawberries influences the concentrations of some of the compounds in the spreads, such as isobutyl acetate, butyl butyrate, 3-hexen-1-yl acetate or propan-2-ol. The process conditions have an important effect on the volatile profiles. Most of the esters and alcohols decreased whereas 13 new compounds appear, mostly furans (furfural, 2-acetylfurane, 5-methyl furfural, mesifurane) and aldehydes (octanal, nonanal, decanal and benzaldeyhde). In general, the spreads formulated with sucrose-isomaltulose that contained higher levels of pectin and citric acid gave better results in the preservation of the original aromatic compounds in raw strawberries.