RELATIONSHIP OF NITROGEN‐SULFUR FERTILIZATION AND HYBRID TO SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF shrunken2 SWEET CORN KERNELS

Abstract

Sweet corn hybrids significantly affected the primary components of eating quality, i.e. sweetness (P<O.001), sweet corn aroma (P=0.004), crisp pericalp (P = 0.002) and tender endosperm (P = 0.020). To some degree, N-S fertilization had an influence on the sweetness of the kernel (P = 0.067). Hybrids with high levels of kernel DMS and sucrose had more intense sweet corn aroma and sweetness, respectively, with a corresponding increase in sweet corn flavor. A positive relationship was also observed between sweet corn aroma and kernel DMS concentration. Although overall liking did not display significant differences between hybrids and was not correlated with any of the chemical components offlavor, it was positively related to aroma, sweetness and texture, and negatively related to grassiness and starchiness in the kernels. i%e results in this study demonstrated the importance of conducting sensory evaluation to understand the complex nature of the sensory quality in food crops.

Nitrogen and Sulfur Fertilization Influences Aromatic Flavor Components in Shrunken2 Sweet Corn Kernels

“…Acting through a heat-labile S-containing amino acid precursor, S-methylmethionine sulfonium salt (MMS), DMS is the compound responsible for the characteristic odor of cooked sweet corn (Bills and Keenan, 1968;Williams and Nelson, 1974). Although not as easily defined as either sweetness or texture, sensory evaluation studies have shown that aroma can contribute between 15% and 33% of the overall flavor response in sweet corn (Flora and Wiley, 1974a;Wong et al, 1995).…”