Volatile flavour profile changes in selected field pea cultivars as affected by crop year and processing

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of cultivar, crop year and processing (dry milling, cooking and dehulling) on volatile flavour compounds of field peas using an optimised headspace-solid phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method. Significant differences in area counts of volatile compounds were observed between the different cultivars as well as in area counts of volatile compounds of each cultivar grown in different crop years. Results showed significant reduction in total area counts (TAC) of volatile compounds after cooking and dehulling the seeds. Major differences between whole seeds, cooked and dehulled seeds were found in aldehydes, alcohols, and ketones. Cooked–dehulled peas had the least TAC (7.83E±05) of the volatile compounds compared to the milled-whole peas (6.36E±06), cooked-whole peas (2.00E±06) and milled–dehulled peas (4.33E±06). The results suggest that volatile flavour compounds of different field peas were affected by the cultivar, crop year as well as processing conditions.