The key aroma compounds in smoke-cured pork leg were characterized by gas chromatography–olfactometry coupled with aroma extract dilution analysis (GC–O/AEDA), odor activity value (OAV), recombination modeling, and omission tests. Ranking analysis showed that pork leg smoke-cured for 18 days had the best sensory qualities, with strong meaty, smoky, roasty, woody, and greasy attributes. Thirty-nine aroma-active regions with flavor dilution (FD) factors ranging from 9 to 6561 were detected. Overall, 3-ethylphenol had the highest FD factor of 6561, followed by 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, 3,4-dimethylphenol, 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, 3-methylphenol, and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, with FD ≥243. Among 39 aroma compounds, 27 compounds with OAVs ≥1 and were potent odorants. A similarity of 90.73% between the recombination model and traditional Hunan Smoke-cured Pork Leg (THSL) sample was obtained. Omission tests further confirmed that (E)-2-nonenal, 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, guaiacol, 3-ethylphenol, 2,6-dimethylphenol, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, and methional were key odorants in smoke-cured pork leg. Additionally, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (38.88 μg/kg), which contributes to a roasty aroma, was characterized here as a key odorant of smoke-cured pork leg for the first time.

Douchi is a traditional fermented soya bean product that is popular for its smelled saltiness and unique flavor. In order to look for the relationship between smelled saltiness of volatiles and their saltiness-enhancing properties, gas chromatography-olfactometry/associated taste was used to select odorants associated with saltiness in Yongchuan Douchi. The enhancement effects of saltiness intensity by selected odorants were further verified by sensory evaluation analyses of 2-alternative forced-choice and odor-induced saltiness enhancement in a follow-up study. A total of 14 odorant compounds were selected for their odor-associated saltiness perception. The compounds of 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl pyrazine, 2,5-dimethyl pyrazine, dimethyl trisulfide, 3-(methylthio) propanol and 3-(methylthio) propanal could significantly enhance saltiness perception in salt solution. Among them, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl pyrazine was reported for the first time to be able to improve the salty taste. The study suggested that salty food is an ideal material for selecting saltiness-enhancing odorants, which could provide more direct theoretical support for salt reduction in the food industry.

Flavor stability of fried pepper oil was investigated during 30 days of storage. Variation trends of key volatile flavor compounds in fried pepper oil induced by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and oxygen (O₂) exposure were compared using GC-MS and chiral GC-MS analysis. Chirality analysis showed that conversion of (S)-(-)-limonene to (R)-(+)-limonene form was observed during storage. The storage conditions did not change the configuration of linalool, linalool oxide, or carvone. Quantitative analysis showed that the concentrations of linalool, limonene, 1,8-cineole, β-myrcene, and β-ocimene decreased dramatically during storage, whereas carvone, (E)-2-heptenal, and linalool oxide showed an increasing trend during storage. The loss rate of limonene and linalool exhibited the highest under combined UV and O₂ condition, which played an important role for the aroma attenuation of pepper oil. This result will benefit the storage of pepper oil and based on pepper oil aromatic products.

Volatile compounds and physicochemical properties of meat are significantly changed by cooking processes. This study explored the influence of different stir-frying temperatures and times on the dynamic changes of the physicochemical characteristics and volatiles of pork tenderloin and determined the correlation between them. Results showed that time played more of a role than temperature. At the same temperature, the water content decreased (p < 0.05) and the cooking loss increased (p < 0.05) with stir-frying time extending. The L* value and the b* value showed first an increasing and then decreasing trend (p < 0.05), while the a* value significantly increased (p < 0.05). The higher the cooking temperature of sample, the faster the indexes changed. In stir-fried samples, 50 volatiles were identified. Correlation analysis showed that among the quality attributes, b* value and water content had the strongest impact on volatiles. The water content was negatively correlated with most of the compounds attributed to the desired aroma of stir-fried samples, while the correlation between the b* value and these volatiles was positive. Hence, changes in the types and contents of volatiles in stir-fried pork tenderloin could be predicted by detection of b* value and water content.