Cooked Flavor in Sterile Illinois Soybean Beverage

Whole soybean beverage prepared by the Illinois process can be rendered commercially sterile by a 42‐min still retort process at 250°F (121°C). However, the resulting beverage possesses a pronounced cooked or heated flavor defect which is correlated to formation of H 2 S during thermal processing. Amount of H 2 S release is a function of process time at 250°F and is related to the destruction of sulfur amino acids, particularly cystine. H 2 S formation increased significantly as beverage pH was increased from 7.0 to 8.0. H 2 S concentration and cooked flavor intensity both decreased during storage of the processed beverage especially with the use of can enamel containing zinc oxide.