The aroma compounds in four brands of white bread were characterized by aroma extraction dilution analysis, quantitation, aroma recombination, and omission tests. A total of 54 aroma compounds were detected. Among them, methional had the highest flavor dilution (FD) factor of 729, followed by ( E,E )-2,4-decadienal (FD = 243), furaneol (FD = 243), and δ -decalactone (FD = 243). Thirty-nine compounds (FD ≥ 9) were quantitated then analyzed by odor activity values (OAVs), 31 of which had OAVs ≥ 1. Four recombination models showed a similarity of 90.35% to the corresponding white bread samples. Omission tests confirmed that ( E,E )-2,4-decadienal (OAV = 1,229), 4-methyl-5-thiazoleethanol (OAV = 274), δ -decalactone (OAV = 70), furaneol (OAV = 40), 2-phenylethanol (OAV = 20), and methional (OAV = 12) were the key aroma compounds in white bread. Additionally, the alcohols and acids also significantly ( p < 0.001) contributed to the sour, sweet, and flour-like notes of white bread. Practical applications In this work, the key aroma compounds of white bread were confirmed. The content of aromas was significantly different among four brands of white bread with different recipes and processing techniques. These results provide an important theoretical basis for the improvement of quality control and processing of white bread.
Acrylamide (AM), as one of the by-products produced by the Maillard reaction, has received increasing attention due to the potential risk of side effects in humans and other animals. In this study, a simple method was developed for AM quantitation by utilizing the fluorescence enhancement induced by the distance increase between functionalized carbon quantum dots modified by N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS-CQDs) induced by AM polymerization. This fluorescent sensing approach allowed for detecting AM in a double-distilled water system in the range between 5 × 10 −3 and 1 × 10 −6 M with a low detection limit of 2.6 × 10 −7 M. Furthermore, a novel method for the pretreatment of white bread crust samples was developed based on QuECHERS method (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe), and detecting range between 5 × 10 −4 and 5 × 10 −6 M, low detection limit of 8.1 × 10 −7 M, and satisfactory recoveries of 99.13–103.7% in spiked white bread crust samples were obtained by the present method, confirming its good applicability for AM determination in real food products.