Cátedra de Química Agrícola, ETSI Agrónomos de Albacete, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario, 02071 Albacete, Spain.
J Sci Food Agric. 2010 Mar 15;90(4):719-25. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.3877.
The dehydration procedure is responsible for saffron sensorial properties: colour, taste and aroma. Changes in the compounds responsible for these characteristics have been studied when dehydration processes at high and low temperature are employed. However, the evolution of these changes at mild temperatures is not available in the current bibliography. In this paper the effect of different mild conditions (18-20 degrees C for 24 h, 40-50 degrees C for 75 min and 55 degrees C for 75 min) applied to 45 saffron samples with the same origin was investigated.
Crocetin esters, the compounds responsible for saffron colour, increased their content with no significant differences from other processes when high temperatures (55 degrees C) were used, thus producing a noticeable increment in saffron colouring capability. Similar behaviour was obtained for picrocrocin, the compound responsible for saffron taste, with higher average content at the highest temperature (55 degrees C) but without significant differences with the inferior conditions (40-50 degrees C). However, more volatile compounds were generated, especially safranal,at higher temperatures, e.g. 55 degrees C, during the dehydration procedure.
The results found support the idea for employing mild to high temperatures during the dehydration process of saffron.
脱水过程是藏红花感官特性（颜色、味道和香气）的决定因素。当采用高温和低温的脱水工艺时，已经研究了负责这些特征的化合物的变化。然而，目前的文献中没有关于在温和温度下这些变化的演变的信息。本文研究了在相同来源的 45 个藏红花样本中应用不同温和条件（18-20°C 持续 24 小时、40-50°C 持续 75 分钟和 55°C 持续 75 分钟）的效果。
藏红花颜色的化合物——藏红花酸酯，在使用高温（55°C）时，其含量增加，与其他工艺没有显著差异，从而显著提高了藏红花的着色能力。负责藏红花味道的化合物——苦味藏红花素，也表现出类似的行为，在最高温度（55°C）下，其平均含量更高，但与较低温度（40-50°C）相比没有显著差异。然而，在脱水过程中，特别是在较高温度下（例如 55°C），会产生更多的挥发性化合物，如藏红花醛。
这些发现支持了在藏红花脱水过程中采用温和至高温的观点。
