Dayna McCormick

Citation

Thesis Title
Vanilla Extract Improvement

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Although vanilla extract is one of the most commonly used food flavourings, there is still a lot to understand about the sensory characteristics and chemical composition of vanilla. Ms McCormick investigated the flavour of vanilla extracts to provide a greater understanding to the food industry worldwide. Through the use of a trained sensory panel and a range of analytical chemical techniques, she investigated their differences detectable by trained tasters, how those differences mapped with the changes in chemical composition from different growing regions, how flavour affected changes in fat and sugar content in simple foods, and how the vanilla was affected by dehydration and concentration processes. She found numerous flavour compounds that correlated with flavour notes detected in the vanilla samples and was able to predict the effects of altering fat and sugar concentrations in foods on the final flavour and aroma of a vanilla flavoured milk solution.

Supervisors
Professor Marie Wong
Professor Al Nielson
Dr John Grigor
Dr Wannita Jirangrat