SUMMARYA general method of dividing and subjectively evaluating the fractions of cooked chicken aroma was developed. The fractions were separated by passing nitrogen gas laden with the freshly formed aroma through solid absorbents or solutions of metal salts. The unabsorbed effluents were then characterized or identified in terms of the dominant odor by a trained panel. Absorbents were selected for their ability to permit passage of easily identified aroma fractions and for their general inability to form, react with, or concentrate on a volume basis the unabsorbed fractions of interest. The role of hydrogen sulfide was established in two ways: 1) when essentially all aroma constituents except hydrogen sulfide were removed from the nitrogen stream by anhydrous calcium sulfate (or calcium chloride or calcium carbonate), the residual aroma was easily recognized as hydrogen sulfide; and 2) when hydrogen sulfide was removed by any of a variety of heavy metal salts, a completely foreign disagreeable aroma remained that indicated the blending or masking effect of the hydrogen sulfide. When hydrogen sulfide and other components were removed by magnesium oxide, an ammoniacal odor characteristic of ammonia or aliphatic amines was exposed. Many absorbents or combinations of absorbents were found that trapped all fractions of the cooked chicken aroma.
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