Zhang, K; Zang, M; Zhang, Z; Li, D; Li, X; Wang, S
Precooked meat products generated warmed-over flavor (WOF) after cooling and reheating, affecting the meat products' sensory quality and consumers' acceptance. It was especially necessary to find natural WOF inhibitors, due to the extensive attention for the safety of chemically synthesized antioxidants. The effect of four natural spicy essential oils at 0.03% level on the flavor compound profiles, WOF and lipid oxidation of precooked pork patties after cooling and reheating was investigated. These natural spicy essential oils included cinnamon essential oil, clove essential oil, nutmeg essential oil and pepper essential oil. Totally 57 flavor compounds were identified in all samples by solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The addition of natural spices essential oils increased the types and contents of volatile compounds for reheated samples, mainly including alkens, terpene alcohols and esters (p<0.05). Hexanal, heptanal, octanal, nonanal, (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-decenal, (E, E)-2, 4-decadienal, 1-octene-3-ol, and 2-pentyl furan were selected as the evaluation indicators of WOF. Four kinds of natural spice essential oils had antioxidant effects on precooked pork patties after cooling and reheating, but cinnamon essential oil, nutmeg essential oil and pepper essential oil had no significant inhibition on WOF (p>0.05). Clove essential oil showed better inhibition on WOF and lipid oxidation than the synthetic antioxidant, dibutyl hydroxytoluene for precooked pork patties after cooling and reheating. This study revealed the clove essential oil as a potential natural inhibitor to WOF in precooked meat products after cooling and reheating. © 2020, Chinese Society of Agricultural Machinery. All right reserved.