Identification Of Characteristic Aroma Compounds And Preparation Of Chicken Broth Flavors

Chicken flavor is one of the most important savory flavors, and higher demands of its quality have been put forward with the industrialization process of traditional Chinese cuisine. However, formulating and creating flavors are the weakness of domestic flavor technology, and experiential imitation was still the mainstream approach because of the lack of fundamental research on the aroma of dishes. Therefore, sensomics analysis of characteristic chicken broth aroma in this research will provide the theory basis and new clue for modern flavor technology.The volatile compounds of both broiler and hen broth were investigated by simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 120 volatiles were identified, of which 98 and 105 components were detected in broiler and hen broth, respectively. Aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and furan(one)s were dominate volatiles. To get an insight into the aroma profiles of chicken broth, aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) was applied. The results showed that complexity and odor intensity of hen broth were much higher than those in broiler broth. Eighteen and twenty-nine aroma-active compounds were identified in broiler and hen broth, respectively. And the dilution factors (FD) of 16 common components in hen broth were greater than or equal to that in broiler broth. Thirteen unique aroma-active compounds with almond, citrus, vegetable, cucumber and sweet odors were found in hen broth, while caramel and chickeny odor were provided by the two special components were identified in broiler broth. (E,E)-2,4-decadienal showed the highest FD value in both broiler and hen broth (FD=128/1024). Moreover, (E,E)-2,4-nonadienal, (E,Z)-2,4-nonadienal and (E,Z)-2,4-decadienal were also the most important aroma-active compounds in hen broth (FD=1024).The aroma precursors were analyzed in this study. Significant differences were found in free fatty acids between broiler and hen, but such difference were not found in amino acids. Higher percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids were found in hen, especially, higher amounts of linoleic acid were found in total and neutral lipid fatty acids fractions of hen, compared with those in broiler (1.65-and 1.43-fold, respectively).The volatile profiles of 10 types of commercial chicken flavors were investigated by HS-SPME-GC-MS, and a total of 131 compounds were identified. Major chemical classes ofcompounds were sulfur-contained compounds, terpenes and aldehydes. Thirty aroma-active compounds of representative chicken broth flavor, which could be divided into meaty, chickeny and other (spicy, alliaceous, milky, caramel, et al) notes, were detected by GC-O. Furthermore, considering the aroma-active compounds in both chicken broth and commercial chicken flavor, synthetically, initial chicken broth flavor formulation was prepared. The effect of individual flavor materials on sensory perception of liquor chicken flavor was studied. Finally, a natural and realistic liquor chicken broth flavor was prepared by improving the initial formulation.