Volatile and Amino Acid Profiling of Dry Cured Hams from Different Swine Breeds and Processing Methods

Abstract

The flavor of dry cured ham explains the high appreciation of this product and it determines consumer acceptance. Volatile compounds provide valuable information about the odor and sensory quality of dry cured hams. Since amino acids are the origin of some volatile compounds of dry cured ham, the volatile and amino acid compositions of forty-one dry cured hams from Spain and France were determined to establish associations between them. The samples included different pig breeds (non Iberian vs. Iberian), which were additionally affected by different maturation times and feeding types (acorn vs. fodder). Results showed that 20 volatile compounds were able to distinguish Iberian and non Iberian hams, and 16 of those had relevant sensory impact according to their odor activity values. 3-Methylbutanol, 2-heptanol and hexanal were among the most concentrated volatile compounds. In the case of non-volatile compounds, the concentrations of amino acids were generally higher in Iberian hams, and all the amino acids were able to distinguish Iberian from non Iberian hams with the exception of tryptophan and asparagine. A strong correlation of some amino acids with volatile compounds was found in the particular case of alcohols and aldehydes when only Iberian hams were considered. The high correlation values found in some cases proved that proteolysis plays an important role in aroma generation.

Characterization of volatile compounds, physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of smoked dry-cured ham

“…Nonanal comes from the oxidation of oleic acid that is the most abundant unsaturated fatty acid in hams (Pham et al 2008) and contributes to flavour with sweet and fruity aroma (Nunes et al 2008). The most abundant saturated aldehydes in Iberian dry-cured ham were octanal, nonanal and hexanal (García-González et al 2013) which is similar with the results of this study. In general, saturated aldehydes contributed to aroma with sensory descriptors such as green/grassy (hexanal), hamlike/fatty (heptanal) and meat-like/fruity (octanal) although with different intensity depending on the breed (Tjener and Stahnke 2007).…”

“…However, the low odour threshold of 1-octen-3-ol indicated that it contributed strong mushroom aroma to almost all the hams. The concentration of this compound significantly arose as the amount of curing salt increases, which explained the differences between samples (García-González et al 2013). Therefore, 1-octene-3-ol was the most abundant alcohol in Dalmatian smoked dry-cured ham due to the high salt content.…”

“…Methyl ketones are produced by lipid oxidation, by means of autoxidation or beta-oxidation of fatty acids. These compounds contribute to dry-cured ham aroma and they are considered as responsible for ham fatty aromas associated with cooked meat and the blue cheese sensory note (García-González et al 2013). Two methyl ketones (2-heptanone and 2-nonanone) were also present in the Dalmatian smoked dry-cured.…”

“…Benzaldehyde (2.6-7.1%) was one of the most abundant aldehyde in Dalmatian smoked dry-cured ham. This compound has been found in Iberian hams at a very high concentration (García-González et al 2013). 2-Methylbutanal as well as 3-methylbutanal is found to be the largest contributors to the flavour of Spanish and Italian dry-cured hams (Marušić et al 2014).…”

Whole-genome sequence analysis reveals differences in population management and selection of European low-input pig breeds

“…These characteristics of local breeds are very relevant for humans living in developing countries where local domestic animals are an important source of protein. Local breeds are also appreciated in developed countries for their cultural heritage value, and as producers of traditional and high quality meat products [4, 5]. Increasingly, local heritage breeds are recognized for their potential in sustainable or organic food production systems.…”