The acidic potassium dichromate-silver nitrate reagent has been evaluated as a rapid colormetric test for alcohol and aldehyde concentrations in peanuts. Increased levels of alcohols and aldehydes have previously been related to off-flavor in peanuts. The acidic potassium dichromate-silver nitrate color-metric test was found to give a linear response for peanut samples which had been spiked with known ethanol concentrations between 10 and 100 nL/g. Peanut samples (200 g) may be assayed in seven minutes thus the method is applicable to the rapid analysis of large numbers of samples. Forty-four samples from commercial lots of peanuts were analyzed and 20 samples were determined to have above background concentrations of alcohols and aldehydes. Aroma response analysis and subsequent statistical analysis showed a curvilinear relationship between alcohol-aldehyde concentrations and aroma response and thus confirms the previously published reports on the alcohol-off-flavor relationship. The application of this method to quality control in peanut samples could be of significant value in improving the quality of peanuts being marketed and thus those being processed into consumer products.