Development of Odor Lexicons for Black Pepper Grown in Some Provinces in Vietnam

Pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is a major crop in Vietnam, serving as a primary export commodity and contributing significantly to the country's economic value. Despite being the world's leading producer and exporter of pepper, its production still faces numerous limitations, instability, and lacks sustainability, partly attributed to poor quality management, absence of branding, food adulteration, etc. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a lexicon of odor descriptors contributing to the identification of characteristic properties of pepper from different growing regions, evaluating the quality of pepper, and constructing the brand attributes of Vietnamese pepper. A panel of 10 individuals, selected and screened, participated in the process of constructing the lexicon of odor descriptors. Through three sessions of term reduction and two group discussion sessions on definitions and references, a list comprising 11 odor descriptors was condensed from an initial list of 33 terms. The final lexicon consists of 11 odor characteristic descriptions of pepper, each accompanied by a definition and reference agreed upon by the entire panel. This lexicon demonstrates the ability to differentiate pepper samples from various growing regions. Additionally, throughout the lexicon development process, the panel also exhibited significant improvements in the ability to recognize and employ terminology to describe the odor characteristics of pepper.