Trehalose improves flavour retention in dehydrated apricot puree

The influence of the addition of two sugars (trehalose and sucrose) on the retention of volatiles responsible for the characteristic aroma in dehydrated apricot puree was studied. Aroma compounds of fresh and both freeze-dried and foam-mat-dried apricot puree were analysed by manual headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography (GC-FID and GC-MS). The best retention of aroma compounds in dehydrated apricot puree was obtained when trehalose was added, regardless of the dehydration process used (freeze drying or foam-mat drying), although, generally, a much higher retention of flavour volatiles was obtained in freeze-dried purees. Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis were applied to all the apricot purees studied to obtain a simplified view of the relationship among the aroma compounds in dehydrated apricot purees. This study gives further insights into the mechanisms that occur when trehalose is applied as an additive and will enable the development of new processes to maximize this effect and to produce superior dried products.