The flavour of plums (Prunus domestica L.). An examination of the aroma components of plum juice from the cultivar victoria

Abstract Vacuum steam distillation followed by solvent extraction, chemical separation and examination of the final extract by gas chromatography, and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry, enabled 73 volatile components to be identified in juices prepared from plums of the cultivar Victoria. Of these, odour evaluation of the gas chromato‐graphic exit as the components were being separated, indicated that benzaldehyde, linalool, ethyl nonanoate, methyl cinnamate and γ‐decalactone contribute to ‚plum’︁ aroma. Milling the plums, as opposed to merely removing the stones prior to enzyming and expressing the juice, increased the concentrations of hexanol and cis 3‐hexenol and also produced hexanal and trans 2‐hexenal, these four components giving rise to the characteristic ‚green’︁ aroma of juice prepared in this way.