TEKTRAN

CORRELATIONS OF SENSORY AND VOLATILE COMPOUNDS OF SPANISH "SERRANO" DRY- CURED HAM AS A FUNCTION OF PROCESSING TIME

Author(s):

FLORES MONICA
GRIMM CASEY C
TOLDRA FIDEL
SPANIER ARTHUR M

Interpretive Summary:

Generation of dry-cured flavor odor components during different processing methods was examined. Spanish "Seranno" dry-cured hams were processed under traditional practices using two different lengths, of ripening-drying, for dry-curing. Dry-cured hams typically have high production cost because of the length of the ripening-drying period making the product less competitive. Because the final flavor of dry- cured ham is essential to its purchase, and the mechanism of flavor formation is important to investigate, the objective was the study of the volatile (odorous) flavor compounds and their sensory contribution to dry-cured ham. Over 1000 volatile compounds were detected of which 81 were identified. These volatile components contributed, both individually and in combination, to the distinctive aroma properties of the product. Ketones, esters, aromatic hydrocarbons, and pyrazines were essentially the volatile compounds that correlated with "pleasant" aroma in the hams, whereas hexanal, 3-methyl butanal, 1-penten-3-ol and dimethyl disulfide were related to the short ripening-drying stage. These volatile compounds appeared to be mainly formed by lipid oxidation except sulfide compounds, methyl branched aldehydes and pyrazines that were generated by Strecker degradation of amino acids. If processing costs are to be minimized, these results are important to determine the optimum length of time between 7 and 12 months of dry-curing at which "Seranno" dry-cured ham reaches its optimal flavor.

Keywords:

berries stone fruit pears apples sensory quality flavor texture fresh cut

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