Elucidation of the Impact of Steaming on the Key Odorants of Jinhua Dry-Cured Ham Using the Sensomics Approach

Abstract

Jinhua dry-cured ham (JDH) is a traditional fermented meat product favored by Chinese consumers. In this paper, the impact of steaming on the key odorants of JDH was investigated using the sensomics approach. Compounds with odor activity values (OAV) ≥1 were re-engineered in a triglyceride matrix to imitate the odor profiles of both raw and steamed JDHs. The aromaactive compounds were then confirmed by recombination and omission tests using triangle tests. The odor profiles of raw and steamed JDHs were obtained by quantitative descriptive analysis to compare the differences between the original and recombined models. The results showed that pentanal, hexanal, dimethyl trisulfide, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, (E)-2-heptenal, furaneol, 3methylbutanoic acid, 1-octen-3-one, and methional influenced the overall raw JDH odor significantly. Furaneol was first reported as a key compound that provides a caramel smell to the raw JDH. Apart from (E)-2-heptenal, dimethyl trisulfide, furaneol, 3methylbutanoic acid, and methional, the remaining three compounds including 2-furfurylthiol, benzeneacetaldehyde, and phenylethyl alcohol showed a significant influence on the odor profile of steamed JDH. The statistical analysis of the odor profiles showed an 80.0% similarity between the recombination raw JDH and the real raw JDH, and a 76.3% similarity between the model and the real steamed JDH.

Odorants Identified in Chinese Dry-Cured Ham Contribute to Salty Taste Enhancement

“…In our previous investigation, we identified 38 VOCs based on GC-O analysis. 17 The concentrations of those VOCs in the chewed JDH residues were semiquantified as shown in Table S1. The correlation between VOCs and the ion contents (K + and Na + ) found in the residues and saliva is shown in Figure 2A.…”

“…The linear retention index (RI) of each compound was calculated based on the alkanes C 7 –C 30 . The standards of aroma-active compounds identified using GC-O analysis in our previous investigation were injected into the GC-TOF/MS for confirmation . The concentration of these aroma-active compounds was calculated by dividing the area of the selected m / z fragment of the target compound by the area of the internal standard (IS), without using correction factors …”

“…The sensory evaluation was conducted using the condition as in the previous study . Before evaluation, the sensory panelists were trained to use a nose clip in order to collect retronasal olfaction data.…”

“…In order to investigate the effect of each cooking method on the JDH, the cut slices within each batch (a total of 3 batches) were randomly chosen for applying five treatment methods, thus resulting in 5 samples, i.e., raw (no treatment), steaming, boiling, microwaving with 20 mL of water, and microwaving with 40 mL of water. The samples were prepared following our previous experiment. , Sample No. 1 (Raw): no further treatment was applied to the slices.…”

“…The sensory evaluation was conducted using the condition as in the previous study. 17 Before evaluation, the sensory panelists were trained to use a nose clip in order to collect retronasal olfaction data. During evaluation, the panelists removed the nose clip and scored the perceived saltiness of each sample on a continuous line scale, of which the intensity ranged from 0.0 to 10.0.…”