Cherry, What Am I Tasting?

I  was wondering what Cherries tasted like, and I found this article  by Nui and several other Chinese authors.  They linked the molecules to the flavor profile. 29 compounds contribute to the taste including slightly disturbing chemicals like benzaldehyde.

Fifty-one odor-active (OA) compounds were detected by GC–O and quantified by GC–MS, and 45 of them were identified. Twenty-nine OA compounds having more than 50% detection frequency were selected as specific compounds correlated to sensory attributes by partial least squares regression (PLSR).


   The correlation result showed ethyl 2-methyl propionate, 2,3-butanedione, ethyl butyrate, ethyl pentanoate, 3-methyl-1-butanol, ethyl hexanoate, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, ethyl lactate, 1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, ethyl hydroxyacetate, acetic acid, furfural, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, benzaldehyde, propanoic acid, butanoic acid, guaiacol, beta-citronellol, hexanoic acid, 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol, 2-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4H-pyran-4-one, ethyl cinnamate, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol were typical OA compounds, which covaried with characteristic aroma of cherry wines.

My 2011 continues to ferment, and ferment quickly. It has been 48 hours and the sweetness is diminishing. The cherry fragrance is still there. The alcohol is still to faint to pick out.