Volatile Compounds and Fatty Acids of Mutton Carrot Filling During Dynamic Steaming Investigated Based on GC-MS and...

To investigate the impact of varying steaming durations on the flavor characteristics of mutton and carrot stuffing, dynamic changes in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fatty acids were analyzed using solid-phase micro-extraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) and gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS). The results revealed a total of 116 VOCs identified throughout the steaming process, with 73 detected by GC-MS and 44 by GC-IMS. Notably, VOC concentrations were significantly higher at 18-24 min compared to 8-16 min. Additionally, a GC-IMS fingerprint was developed to assess the distribution of VOCs during steaming. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) indicated that 11 compounds, such as ethyl caprylate (B3), linalyl acetate (B6), and 1-nonanal (C1), significantly influenced the flavor characteristics of the mutton and carrot filling. Further analysis demonstrated that stearic acid content reached its lowest point at 20-22 min of steaming, while n-6 and n-3 series polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and the ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids (P/S) peaked at this time.