LAUSR

The 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4(H)-pyran-4-one (DDMP), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), furfural, and 5-methylfurfural (MF) are the components of caramel colors with intense bitterness. In this study, a practical and simple method for the simultaneous analysis of these four bitter compounds in caramel colors and beverages was proposed using high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector–atmospheric pressure chemical ionization–mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-APCI-MS). For the sample preparation, the extract efficiencies from different extract solvents and quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) salt pockets were compared. The correlation coefficients (R2) of all analytical curves were ≥ 0.9914. The satisfactory recoveries ranged between 70.1% and 101.5%, with relative standard deviations ranged from 1.7% to 9.1%. The matrix effect was evaluated, and HMF, furfural, and MF showed signal enrichment. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of bitter compounds content in several caramel colors and beverages from a local market in China. Four compounds were found in eight samples, with concentration ranging from 0.5 to 1058.1 mg kg−1.