The first comprehensive analysis of the flavor of Freekeh: a toasted, smoked, green durum wheat product, by analytical and sensory approaches.

Freekeh, smoked immature durum wheat, has gastronomic significance and attractive nutritional values, fueling increasing global demand. Yet, knowledge regarding its flavor chemistry and sensory properties remains absent, hindering quality control and market expansion. We employed analytical and sensory methods, with multivariate modeling, to study how Freekeh flavor is shaped by agro-technical and processing practices. Freekeh flavor is a mixture of grain-derived metabolites and processing products, yielding >300 volatiles. Twenty volatiles were validated as key-odorants (phenols, pyrazines, aldehydes) via GC-olfactometry; phenols comprising most of the profile. Grain maturity significantly influences flavor: early-harvest Freekeh is more aromatic, sweet, umami and kokumi due to elevated sugars, amino acids, 5'-ribonucleotides and γ-glutamyl peptides. Genotype and toasting intensity similarly play a pivotal role in shaping flavor. This study serves as the inaugural roadmap to freekeh flavor, establishing a predictive chemical/sensory framework uncovering novel cereal flavors, and providing producers benchmarks to fine-tune quality using early-harvest practices.