ABSTRACT
The characteristic flavor of some food products develops during processing or home preparation. Examples of foods where this occurs include sauerkraut, yogurt, meats, chocolate, coffee, baked goods, and deep fat fried foods. The primary routes for flavor formation in these foods are nonenzymatic browning, fermentation, and thermal oxidations of fats (recognizing there are a host of other minor reactions that can significantly influence the flavor of a food, e.g., thiamin degradation in meats). This chapter will present an overview of these key pathways leading to food flavor during processing.
