Flavoromics approach to identifying the key aroma compounds in traditional Chinese milk fan

To determine the key aroma compounds in Chinese milk fan cheese, samples from 6 of the most popular handmade milk fan workshops in Yunnan province of China were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), sensory evaluation, aroma recombination and omission experiments. Seventy-one aroma compounds were identified by GC-MS, and 31 odor-active compounds were detected by GC-O. The relationships between the 31 odor-active compounds and 10 sensory evaluation properties were explored by partial least squares discriminant analysis. The results identified 23 initial key aroma compounds, which were used to simulate the aroma profile of milk fan in aroma recombination experiments. Aroma omission experiments identified propanoic acid, butanoic acid, octanoic acid, octanal, nonanal, 2-nonanone, and ethyl hexanoate as the key aroma compounds. Propanoic acid and butanoic acid contributed to cheese and rancid aromas, octanal and nonanal to the fat aroma, octanoic acid and 2-nonanone to the cheese aroma, and ethyl hexanoate to the fruity aroma of milk fan.