Diacetyl as the buttery flavor component in soybean oil

Abstract

Abstract Soybean oil often exhibits a buttery flavor in the early stages of autoxidation. Molecular distiliates from 舠buttery舡 soybean oil consisted of aqueous and oily layers. The aqueous layer contained the buttery flavor. During gas chromatography, the buttery flavor compound had a retention time similar to diacetyl on both polar and nonpolar columns. Diacetyl‐bis‐2,4‐dinitrophenyl‐hydrazone was isolated from the aqueous layer of the distillate. Diacetyl added to fresh soybean oil faithfully reproduced the buttery flavor.