Effect of Seasoning Addition on Volatile Composition and Sensory Properties of Stewed Pork

The study aimed to investigate the influence of seasoning formulations (SP₁: water; SP₂: water and salt; SP₃: water, salt and spices; SP₄: water, salt, spices and soy sauce; SP₅: water, salt, spices, soy sauce, sugar; SP₆: water, salt, spices, soy sauce, sugar and cooking wine) on the volatile profiles and sensory evaluation of stewed pork. Volatile compounds were extracted using solid phase microextraction (SPME), then analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O) and two-dimensional gas chromatographic combined with time-of-fight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOFMS). The results revealed that the most abundant volatile compounds, especially aldehydes, were presented in the stewed pork using SP₁ and SP₂. This indicated that the stewed pork with water and salt could promote lipid oxidation and amino acid degradation. As revealed by principal component analysis (PCA), the stewed pork samples with SP₃ were located on the opposite side of that with SP₄, SP₅, and SP₆ in the first and third principal component (PC1-PC3), which indicated that the overall flavour formed by adding spices was significantly different from that of adding soy sauce, sugar, and cooking wine. Sensory evaluation showed that stronger spicy, caramel, and soy sauce odour were present in samples SP₃, SP₄, SP₅, and SP₆. This study has indicated that the addition of food seasoning had a positive effect on flavour profiles of stewed pork, particularly for salt and spices.