Temperature-Driven Textural Evolution, Quality Changes, and Flavor Development in Luncheon Meat

Different heat treatment temperatures (85-115 °C) were evaluated for their effects on the quality and flavor of luncheon meat. As the heating temperature increased, the weight loss rate increased, and its color became darker. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) revealed that immobilized water decreased progressively while bound and free water both increased. During heat treatment, alterations in the spatial structure of proteins reduced the hardness and chewiness of luncheon meat, accompanied by significant variations in amino acid contents. The MDA content increased from 0.34 to 0.69 mg/kg with increasing temperature, confirming enhanced lipid oxidation. Through gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) analysis, a total of 38 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified, primarily aldehydes, ketones, and esters; the total aldehydes content increased by 57.5% from 85 °C to 115 °C. Combining odor activity values (OAV > 1) with orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA, VIP > 1), 9 core flavor compounds were identified. Heating at 95 °C balanced aldehyde-ester flavor development with minimal quality loss. This study provides key theoretical foundations for optimizing heat treatment parameters in the industrial production of luncheon meat.