A study of the sensory attributes of flours and crackers made from sprouted and unsprouted faba beans

Flours made from sprouted and unsprouted low-tannin (Snowbird, SB and Snowdrop, SD) and high-tannin (Fabelle, FA and FB9-4, FB) faba bean cultivars were used to make crackers for aroma analysis and sensory studies. Headspace solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC–MS) was used to monitor volatile compounds in the crackers’ headspace. Their sensory impacts were estimated via relative odour activity values (ROAV), while nine attributes of the crackers were also evaluated by a sensory panel. Roasted, nutty, peanut butter, and burnt attributes were associated with pyrazines; grassy from pentanal and hexanal; grainy from 2-methylpropanal; cheesy from 3-methylbutanal; beany from hexanal, nonanal, 2-heptanone, and 2-pentylfuran; earthy from 2,3-dimethyl-5-ethylpyrazine; and split yellow pea from alcohols. The total abundances of volatiles with ROAV ≥1 associated with roasted seed/nutty, peanut butter, and burnt aromas in crackers were shown to correlate with sensory panel results, along with partial correlation for the grassy/hay attribute.