Key aroma components of a dry-cured sausage with high fat content (sobrassada)

Food Sci Technol Int. 2011 Feb;17(1):63-71. doi: 10.1177/1082013210368557. Epub 2011 Feb 7.

Abstract

The key aroma components and the lipolysis in a dry cured sausage 'Sobrassada of Mallorca from black pig' were studied. Sobrassada was characterized by a fatty acid profile with a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and by the generation during the curing process of polyunsaturated free fatty acids that were oxidized to generate flavor compounds. Eighty-four different volatile compounds were identified and three of them were for the first time detected in dry sausages (methyl nonanoate, 1-methyl-1H-pyrrole and 2-acetyl pyrrole). Thirty-five different aroma active zones were found. The aroma of sobrassada was not only due to compounds already detected as essential contributors in dry sausages (3-methyl butanoic acid, ethyl 3-methyl butanoate, 2, 3-butanedione and acetic acid) but also to other compounds such as ethyl octanoate, furfural, benzaldehyde, (Z)-2-nonenal, 4-methyl-phenol, delta-hexalactone, heptanoic acid, 2-pentylfuran and 2-acetyl-pyrrole which gave specific aroma notes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Fats / chemistry*
  • Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / chemistry
  • Food Preservation / methods*
  • Meat Products / analysis*
  • Odorants / analysis*
  • Swine

Substances

  • Fats
  • Fatty Acids, Nonesterified