1Chapter 2 Developing the Aromatic Quality of Cured Vanilla Beans (Vanilla planifolia G. Jackson)

From a chemical viewpoint, these different compounds belong to the following classes: hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, lactones, acids, terpenoids, heterocyclics, and phenols.

Among the hydrocarbons, a large number of alkanes have been identi ed (such as n-pentacosane), methylated and ethylated derivatives of these alkanes, alkenes (such as 1-hentriacontene), terpenoids (such as α-pinene or limonene), and aromatic rings (such as benzene and some of its derivatives) (Figure 12.1).