Volatile compounds and sensory attributes that drive the flavor of cooked sweetpotato.

The volatile organic compound (VOC) composition of a sweetpotato genetic mapping population (N = 309) generated from parental lines with distinct flavor profiles was characterized using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Genotypes representing the diversity in VOC profiles (N = 42) were selected for descriptive sensory analysis to explore relationships between composition and flavor. Thirteen flavor attributes and 295 VOCs, including 106 compounds not previously reported in sweetpotato, differentiated these 42 genotypes. "Sweetpotato" and "caramel/sweet aromatics" were the dominant distinguishing flavors and positively associated with 2-furanmethanol. "Cooked carrot", "pumpkin/squash", and "floral" were moderately distinguishing attributes associated with d-limonene, 2-pinen-10-ol, and β-ocimene, respectively. Some genotypes were characterized by "baked potato" flavor, which was positively associated with nerol oxide, (E)-rose oxide and phenylethanol. Several of the top predictors of characteristic flavors were unidentified compounds. This research provides the framework for identifying VOCs important to sweetpotato flavor to guide varietal selection and improvement.