Fat has a great impact on the meat product flavor, which is influenced by cooking time. This study explored the effect of different steaming times on the fat flavor of pork belly. A total of 14 aldehydes, 11 ketones, 6 esters, 4 alcohols, and 1 acid volatile compounds were identified through gas chromatography ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS). The relative odor activity value (ROAV) combined with the principal component analysis (PCA) method showed that the aroma of pork belly fat was considerably different under different steaming times. The quantity of key volatile compounds with ROAV ≥ 1, namely, heptanal, ethyl hexanoate, 2-methylbutanal-m, 3-methylbutanal, ethyl acetate, and 2, 3-butanedione increased considerably in the fat after steaming. The fat gives rise to two key volatile compounds, hexanal-d and 1-heptanol, after steaming for 30 min. Similarly, ethyl formate and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone were obtained as the key volatile compounds after steaming for 180 min. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Pork belly is the main ingredient of Chinese traditional dishes such as Dongpo's pork and braised pork in brown sauce. When heated for extended periods of time, the high fat content of pork belly gives rise to important precursors that influence the flavor characteristics of these dishes. However, studies comparing the diversities of volatile compounds in pork belly fat exposed to different heating times are sparse. To address this gap in literature, this study identified the flavor components of pork belly fat exposed to different heating times. The data from this study can act as a framework for further flavor research on pork belly products.
Keywords: gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry; pork belly fat; principal component analysis; relative odor activity value.
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