# Instrumental and Sensory Analyses of Salami from Autochthonous and Conventional Pig Breeds
## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Sensory Analysis  
The reliability of the panel's performance and the training efficiency were checked to ensure reproducibility and repeatability. The panel showed a good discrimination ability (\(p<0.05\)) except for the attribute \"greasiness\" (\(p=0.235\)). This means that for the attributes for which a statistically significant difference was found (\(p<0.05\)), the panel was able to discriminate among the tested products with respect to these attributes. No replicate effect was observed (\(p<0.001\)), indicating that the panel's results were repeatable. Two significant \"replicate\"sample\" interactions (humidity, \(p=0.012\) and fat distribution, \(p=0.00\)) were probably due to chemico-physical modifications in the samples during storage between sessions. In addition, one significant (\(p<0.05\)) \"replicate\"assessor\" interactive effect (humidity, \(p=0.49\)) was found, which could be related to the reference material prepared for these attributes. It would probably be necessary to also provide a reference for humidity, with lower intensity, to specifically train assessors on this attribute. Additionally, the panel analysis and product characterization extensions of XLTAT were used to monitor the judges' performance during training and the effective discrimination power of each attribute. The sensory results are discussed by comparing each Mora Romagnola product with its analogous conventional counterpart (i.e., MO1 vs. CO1, MO2 vs. CO2, and so on). The sensory profiling results (Table 3) showed that the intensities of the attributes _seasoning_ and _fermented_ for samples CO1 vs. MO1 and CO2 vs. MO2 were significantly different. For these samples, it could be useful to describe salami produced with different pig breeds, although they are not associated with a specific breed. Additionally, a significant difference related to the perception of _humidity_ was also registered for MO1 compared to CO1, where the latter showed a higher intensity for this descriptor. Overall, the sensory evaluation was more useful in revealing differences among the different types of salami than in highlighting differences related to the breed. Considering the market leaders CON, FEL, and MIL, the latter had remarkably different characteristics and showed the highest intensities of _pepper_, _garlic_, _fermented_, _spicy_, _salty_, _humidity_, and _fat distribution_ and the lowest intensities of _seasoning_, _rancid_, and _meat grain_, which is probably related to its processing [20]. As reported in Figure 1, MIL and FEL salami had different sensory characteristics from the other samples tested. In particular, they were characterized by the attributes of fat distribution and humidity. In addition, Mora Romagnola samples were generally in the same quadrant as their conventional counterparts, except for samples CO1 and MO1. In fact, CO1 was more characterized by pepper and spicy notes, and sample MO1 by salty taste and a fermented aroma. Our results also suggest that salty and fermented were positively correlated (r = 0.603, \(p\) < 0.05), while salty was negatively correlated with rancid (r = \(-\)0.640, \(p\) < 0.05) and seasoning (r = \(-\)0.569, \(p\) < 0.05) (Figure 1). In addition, humidity was negatively correlated with seasoning, which could be related to the reduction of moisture content which occurs during the ripening process in dry-cured fermented sausages [25]. Although an increase in the concentration of salt due to water loss during ripening has been reported in the literature [25], it can be assumed that the salty attribute was less perceived because it was masked by the seasoning flavors. This could explain the negative correlation (r = \(-\)0.569, \(p\) < 0.05) between these two attributes. Seasoning was also positively correlated with rancid (r = 0.741, \(p\) < 0.05). This is probably due to the presence of several volatile compounds such as aliphatic aldehyde, which can form during the ripening of dry-cured salami and seem to contribute to flavor deterioration [26].