Visualization of differential aroma profiles of Beijing and Nanjing roast duck by sensomics methodology

Aroma characteristics of regional roast duck vary with processing: Nanjing roast ducks are marinated with table salt and monosodium glutamate, whereas Beijing roast duck is not. The aroma profiles and major odorants in skin and muscle of both were clarified by sensomics approach. E-nose findings initially revealed that odor intensity of muscle was higher than that of skin in both regional ducks. Subsequently, volatiles were identified by GC-IMS, GC-MS, and GC-O. Actual aroma contributions of twenty-eight quantified aroma-active compounds (FD ≥ 3 and OAV > 1) were clarified. Due to inadequate aroma reconstitution effect of odorants in lipid-rich skin, only the relationships between aroma attributes and major odorants in muscles were visualized through molecular odor wheels. Among these, 2-n-butyl furan, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, decanal and (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal significantly (p < 0.001) affected Nanjing roast duck muscles' caramel, roasty, meaty and fatty notes, respectively. Nonanal, 1-octen-3-ol, hexanal, (E)-2-decenal and (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal were the most important contributors to Beijing roast duck muscles.