At the German Sensory Science Days 2025 in Bremen, Lea Mehren was awarded the DGSens award for young sensory scientists. With her poster entitled “Ferment to Scent: Sensory and analytical characterization of the aroma profile of fermented aquafaba,” she received the application award (from an industry perspective).
Aquafaba is a side-stream of legume production and can be used as a vegan egg substitute. However, its beany aroma leads to reduced consumer acceptance, so aquafaba was fermented with mushrooms. The change in the aroma profile was described by a trained sensory panel and with the help of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This demonstrated that fermentation led to a reduction in the product-specific beany aroma and that a sweet, roasted aroma developed over time, followed by a woody, mushroomy aroma. The application of fermented aquafaba in a vegan chocolate mousse led to high consumer acceptance in a consumer test.