• A total of 138 volatile compounds were identified and quantified. • 36 volatile compounds were selected as odor-active compounds in cooked meat. • Yak meat from low- and high-altitude were clearly separated into two groups by E-noes. • Based on sensory scores, roasted yak meat from low altitude tends to be more popular.

The study aimed to investigate the influence of seasoning formulations (SP₁: water; SP₂: water and salt; SP₃: water, salt and spices; SP₄: water, salt, spices and soy sauce; SP₅: water, salt, spices, soy sauce, sugar; SP₆: water, salt, spices, soy sauce, sugar and cooking wine) on the volatile profiles and sensory evaluation of stewed pork. Volatile compounds were extracted using solid phase microextraction (SPME), then analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O) and two-dimensional gas chromatographic combined with time-of-fight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS). The results revealed that the most abundant volatile compounds, especially aldehydes, were presented in the stewed pork using SP₁ and SP₂. This indicated that the stewed pork with water and salt could promote lipid oxidation and amino acid degradation. As revealed by principal component analysis (PCA), the stewed pork samples with SP₃ were located on the opposite side of that with SP₄, SP₅, and SP₆ in the first and third principal component (PC1-PC3), which indicated that the overall flavour formed by adding spices was significantly different from that of adding soy sauce, sugar, and cooking wine. Sensory evaluation showed that stronger spicy, caramel, and soy sauce odour were present in samples SP₃, SP₄, SP₅, and SP₆. This study has indicated that the addition of food seasoning had a positive effect on flavour profiles of stewed pork, particularly for salt and spices.

The primary aim of this study was to investigate volatile constituents for the differentiation of Chinese marinated pork hocks from four local brands, Dahongmen (DHM), Daoxiangcun (DXC), Henghuitong (HHT) and Tianfuhao (TFH). To this end the volatile constituents were evaluated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O), electronic nose (E-nose) and chemometrics. A total of 62 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in all pork hocks, and 24 of them were considered as odour-active compounds because their odour activity values (OAVs) were greater than 1. Hexanal (OAV at 3.6–20.3), octanal (OAV at 30.3–47.5), nonanal (OAV at 68.6–166.3), 1,8-cineole (OAV at 36.4–133.3), anethole (OAV at 5.9–28.3) and 2-pentylfuran (OAV at 3.5–29.7) were the key odour-active compounds contributing to the integral flavour of the marinated pork hocks. According to principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) of GC-MS/O and E-nose data, the results showed that the marinated pork hocks were clearly separated into three groups: DHM, HHT, and DXC-TFH. Nine odour-active compounds, heptanal, nonanal, 3-carene, d-limonene, β-phellandrene, p-cymene, eugenol, 2-ethylfuran and 2-pentylfuran, were determined to represent potential flavour markers for the discrimination of marinated pork hocks. This study indicated the feasibility of using GC-MS/O coupled with the E-nose method for the differentiation of the volatile profile in different brands of marinated pork hocks.