Changes in wood smoke volatile composition by manipulating the smoke generation conditions

Abstract

The conditions used to generate wood smoke for the purpose of smoking food greatly affect the flavor character of the resulting food. The relationships between wood type and smoke generation conditions and the resulting volatile composition and flavor character are not well understood. The objective of this study was to characterize the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Kānuka (Kunzea ericoides) wood smoke. Smoke was generated at four temperatures (180−480 °C) under either air or nitrogen using a lab-scale smoke generator. VOCs were extracted in-line by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC–MS). More than three hundred compounds were detected, of which phenols were the dominant class, followed by ketones and aldehydes. Temperature had a greater impact than either air or nitrogen on the VOC profile, however some large compound-specific effects were observed. Comparison of 2,6-dimethylphenol, creosol, furfural, 2-methoxy-4-propylphenol, 2-furanmethanol and 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde demonstrated that their intensities varied with the smoke generation temperature under both air and nitrogen, implying that different aroma profiles can be developed.