Low intramuscular fat (but high in PUFA) content in cooked cured pork ham decreased Maillard reaction volatiles and pleasing aroma attributes.

The influence of intramuscular fat content (high - HI versus low - LI) and fatty acid composition on pork cooked cured ham flavour was analysed by gas chromatography-olfactometry using nasal impact frequency (GC-O/NIF) and quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA). Potential relationships were studied by principal component analysis (PCA). Sixteen and fourteen odourants were identified by GC-O/NIF in LI and HI cooked hams, respectively. The two ham types differed in lipid oxidation odourants: polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) derivatives hexanal, 1-octen-3-one and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal were higher in LI ham; while monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) derivative decanal was higher in HI. HI samples resulted in higher values for odour-active aroma compounds from Maillard reaction, which are related to roast flavour and a higher overall flavour liking. In summary, our results suggest that Maillard derived odour-active aroma compounds were partially inhibited in LI samples (high in PUFA), resulting in lower positive sensory ratings.

Optimisation of stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), targeting medium and long-chain free fatty acids in cooked ham exudates.

The purpose of our research was to optimise the extraction conditions of the stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) targeting the identification of lipid compounds particularly medium and long-chain free fatty acids in cooked cured pork ham exudates. The analytical conditions of extraction (including sample volume, extraction time, stirring speed, pH and dilution of the sample) were checked using the Simplex method approach. As a result of the SBSE optimisation, improved detection limits and linear ranges for hexanoic, heptanoic, octanoic, nonanoic, decanoic, dodecanoic and tetradecanoic fatty acids were obtained. When comparing results with those obtained by the commonly used SPME methodology, optimisation of SBSE achieved better results for volatile compounds of low volatility, such as medium and long-chain free fatty acids, whereas compounds with high volatility and polarity were only detected by SPME. SBSE also confirmed its potential as a tool to help identify undesirable contaminants/residues in meat products.