Anchoring of quality variance factors and uncovering its influence on the flavor quality of BCSGB during aging process of sun-exposure

The aging process is crucial to improve the harmony and fullness of the flavor of baijiu. Nevertheless, the traditional aging process consumes space and times and significantly increased the loss of baijiu. Hence, how to shorten the aging time through manual intervention becomes the research hotspot. Thus, a new aging method of exposure to sunlight was established to accelerate the balance of flavor compounds in baijiu. It was still unclear about the quality variance factors and its influence on the flavor quality of BCSGB (banchengshaoguo baijiu) during the sun-exposure process. Hence, adsorption pen combined with GC-MS were utilized to identify trace components, and pH liquid-liquid extraction and GC-O-MS were employed to screen and assess flavor compounds. Afterward, based on the sensory evaluation of BCSGB, three assessment systems (sensory evaluation, mental test, and random forest) were created to screen the quality variance factors. Thus, the quality variance factors were responsive to changes in the flavor quality of BCSGB during the sun-exposure process, which support process quality monitoring and aging process optimization. [GRAPHICS]