From the point of view of their sensory properties, furan derivatives are important flavor components of a number of food products, especially those which have been “processed thermally,” i.e., by baking, frying, boiling or roasting. More than 80 compounds of the furan-derived group were found in such food products, of which the major ones are characterized in Table 1.
A number of furan-derived compounds obtained chemically by synthesis and not found in nature have been de.scribed in literature. Some of them have fragrances that are interesting, although not always characterized in detail.
The present paper discusses the synthesis and fragrance characterization of several new furan derivatives and a few known compounds which have not yet been described in detail. These are alkylfurylcarbinols and 2,2-dialkylfurylpropanal derivatives obtained both from furfural and furfuryl alcohol.
