Effect of Varying Sucrose Concentration on Volatile Flavor Compounds in Air-dried Cantonese-style Sausage

Abstract:

Air-dried Cantonese-style sausages were prepared using different concentrations of sucrose (3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, and 15%), and headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) was used to measure the content of flavor compounds, which were analyzed statistically. A total of 104 volatile components were identified, and the major components were ethanol, ethyl caproate, ethyl butyrate, ethyl octanoate, and ethyl decanoate (accounting for 71.69% of the total volatile compounds). Among all volatile compounds, there were 9 alcohols, 32 esters, 14 aldehydes, 16 acids, 9 ketones, 12 hydrocarbons, 3 indoles, 2 furans, and 2 amines. The results showed that different concentrations of sucrose had different effects on the content of flavor compounds in the final air-dried sausages. The relative percentages of alcohols and aldehydes in the dried sausage showed a significant positive correlation with the amount of sucrose added (p < 0.05), while the relative percentages of esters and acids showed a significant negative correlation (p < 0.05). Air-dried sausage with 6% sucrose showed the highest content of esters and acids, as high as 13.60% and 27.51%, respectively, which is very important for flavor.