| Two age groups, 22-30 yr and 50-82 yr old, were used to determine thresholds for 13 phenolic acids commonly found in wheat. Flavor characteristics were evaluated for hard red (HRW) and white winter (HWW) wheat flours using some simple bakery product systems. Two wheat screening studies determined flavor attributes of 1993 and 1994 HRW and HWW wheat cultivars from selected Kansas crop reporting districts. Attributes assessed included bitter, astringency, sour, sweet, bran, nutty, and green in wafers and wheat kernels and aftertastes of the same attributes in wafers after five minutes. Phenolic acid composition of eight whole wheat flours was determined using a gas chromatograph and mass selective detector. In both age groups, most phenolic acid thresholds were comparable to previous studies. Slightly lower threshold levels were found for ferulic, syringic, and gentisic acids than previously reported. No differences were found in flat breads for sweetness and nuttiness and in pastries for sweetness and mouth puckering. Differences, or lack thereof, in sweetness and bitterness in shortbread and wafers did not confirm previous results related to HRW and HWW wheat types. Flavors were speculated to be cultivar related, thus not consistently found for blends of red or white wheats. Sweetness was most prevalent in the 1994 HRW Karl wafer, which differed significantly from all others. Among 1993 wafers, initial sweetness and sweetness after five minutes were greatest in the KS196 wafer. Both 1993 and 1994 wheats that produced the sweetest wafers were high in bran character and had low bitterness. Separations were cultivar based, but no trends were apparent that separated HRW and HWW wheats into distinct categories. Overall, cultivar effects appeared more important than the environmental effects. The flavor characteristics associated with phenolic acids, including bitterness, sourness, and astringency were found to vary by wheat cultivar. Greater variation in flavor notes was more related to wheat cultivars than to environmental effects or to white or red wheat types. The quantities of specific phenolic acids varied by cultivar for wheats. Phenolic acid composition appears more related to the specific cultivar than to the type of wheat, HRW or HWW wheat. Ferulic acid was the phenolic acid found in the largest quantity in the eight wheat cultivars investigated. |
