With its fatty, tallow and green odor strength, (E)-2-nonenal is an important component of natural flavors. Flavor experts describe it as having a rather unpleasant, rancid fat aroma when tasted at conventional flavor concentrations of 50 ppm or higher. But at extremely low concentration (intherange of 0.05-20 ppb) it produces a woody flavor which is very useful for enhancing the food aroma.
(E)-2-Nonenal is one of the commercially available unsaturated C9-aldehydes manufactured synthetically. The physiochemical and spectral data of the aldehyde are given in Table I.
Its relatively low threshold value of detection, 0.08-0.1 ppb gives it an advantage over other compounds that have to be used as flavor components at considerably higher concentrations. Such a woody type of flavor is especially desirable for flavor enhancement of coffee-flavored foodstuffs. (E)-2-Nonenal can also be employed to contribute a slightly woody flavor to foods such as ice cream, boiled sweets, hard candy, meat products, milk drinks, cola and other beverages, botb carbonated and non-carbonated.