Abstract:Cured fish products are a traditional Chinese food, and these products are processed to extend storage duration, reduce losses, and improve flavor and nutritional value. Here, cold air-dried, salted Wuchang fish was compared with the undried salted fish to examine the effect of drying on product quality and to study the formation of aroma during the drying process. Specifically, the moisture content, total lipid content, total oxidation value, chromaticity, and fatty acids were quantified, in addition to electronic nose tests and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with the analyses of flavor and other indicators. The total oxidation value increased, whereas the moisture and total lipid contents decreased gradually with the prolongation of drying duration. The color of the fish dried for 48 h was yellowish near the abdomen and slightly dark on the back. During the drying process of Wuchang fish, over 50 types of volatile compounds in nine categories were detected using GC-MS, and the concentration of total volatile compounds increased from 277.04 to 1 219.22 ng/g. Eight types of odor-active compounds with the odor activity value (OAV) exceeding 1 were screened out. With the prolongation of drying duration, the concentration of volatile substances increased but the content of unsaturated fatty acids decreased gradually. With the prolongation of drying duration, the aroma intensified gradually, peaking after 48 h of drying.
