Abstract:To address the issues of flavor deterioration after reheating and the difficulty in standardizing ready-to-eat frozen Yangzhou egg fried rice, this study focused on five brands of ready-to-eat Yangzhou egg fried rice: Sanhe Simei (DCF1), Sanquan (DCF2), Chia Tai (DCF3), Best (DCF4), and Xiangqiang (DCF5). A sensory evaluation panel was established to develop sensory descriptors. Through preliminary screening, secondary screening, summarization, reduction, and final selection, 22 descriptors were ultimately collected, and a flavor profile of Yangzhou egg fried rice was constructed for principal component analysis. Subsequently, the samples were evaluated using the Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) method and the Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) method. Furthermore, the correlation between flavor descriptors and nutritional components was explored. Basic nutritional components and moisture content were measured, and an electronic tongue was employed to analyze taste profiles. The results indicated that the most frequently mentioned descriptors were umami, egg flavor, oily aroma, egg aroma, chewiness/elasticity, and loose/fluffy texture, with DCF1 receiving the highest preference rating. In terms of taste, a taste evaluation system for Yangzhou fried rice was established based on three basic taste dimensions (sweet, salty, and umami), seven comprehensive taste dimensions (such as roasted aroma and seafood flavor), and the aftertaste descriptor "lingering." This study is expected to provide a reference for flavor research on Yangzhou egg fried rice.