AROMA CHARACTERIZATION OF DAIRY BEVERAGES ADDED WITH GUAVA POWDER USING SENSORY ANALYSIS AND ELECTRONIC NOSE

Dehydrated fruit powders can incorporate nutritional and sensory attributes of the raw material and expand their technological applications. In this context, guava powder obtained by foam mat drying has potential for use in dairy beverages and may modify their aroma profile. The integration of sensory and instrumental approaches may contribute to understanding the relationship between perceived aroma and volatile compounds. This study aimed to evaluate the association between sensory attributes determined using the grid method and electronic nose response patterns in dairy beverages containing guava powder. Dairy beverage formulations containing 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5%, and 10.0% guava powder were prepared using albumin as a foaming agent and pectin as a stabilizer. The grid method was conducted with 36 participants to determine the sensory attributes of the beverages. Participants evaluated pairs of coded samples and described their sensory similarities and differences. The volatile profile was characterized using the HERACLES Neo, based on ultrafast gas chromatography. Data were subjected to multivariate analysis and related to the attributes determined by the grid method. Nine aroma attributes were identified, with guava, milk, and sweet being the most prominent. The 2.5% formulation showed a greater association with milk, whereas the 10.0% formulation was associated with guava and sweet. The electronic nose discriminated among the formulations, with PCA explaining 75.5% of the total variance and showing separation among samples. Among the volatile compounds identified, α-ionone, δ-undecalactone, and hexanal stood out, being associated with guava/sweet, fruity/sweet, and dairy characteristics, respectively. The integration of the grid method and electronic nose related sensory perception to the volatile profile, demonstrating the potential of the instrumental approach as a complementary tool for aroma characterization.