# Effect of Seasoning Addition on Volatile Composition and Sensory Properties of Steved Pork
###### Abstract  
The study aimed to investigate the influence of seasoning formulations (SP\({}_{1}\): water; SP\({}_{2}\): water and salt; SP\({}_{3}\): water, salt and spices; SP\({}_{4}\): water, salt, spices and soy sauce; SP\({}_{5}\): water, salt, spices, soy sauce, sugar and cooking wine) on the volatile profiles and sensory evaluation of stewed pork. Volatile compounds were extracted using solid phase microextraction (SPME), then analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O) and two-dimensional gas chromatographic combined with time-of-fight mass spectrometry (GC \(\times\) GC-TOFMS). The results revealed that the most abundant volatile compounds, especially aldehydes, were presented in the stewed pork using SP\({}_{1}\) and SP\({}_{2}\). This indicated that the stewed pork with water and salt could promote lipid oxidation and amino acid degradation. As revealed by principal component analysis (PCA), the stewed pork samples with SP\({}_{3}\) were located on the opposite side of that with SP\({}_{4}\), SP\({}_{5}\), and SP\({}_{6}\) in the first and third principal component (PC1-PC3), which indicated that the overall flavour formed by adding spices was significantly different from that of adding soy sauce, sugar, and cooking wine. Sensory evaluation showed that stronger spicy, caramel, and soy sauce odour were present in samples SP\({}_{3}\), SP\({}_{4}\), SP\({}_{5}\), and SP\({}_{6}\). This study has indicated that the addition of food seasoning had a positive effect on flavour profiles of stewed pork, particularly for salt and spices. stewed pork; seasoning formulations; volatile components; gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O); two-dimensional gas chromatographic combined with time-of-fight mass spectrometry (GC \(\times\) GC-TOFMS); principal component analysis (PCA) +
Footnote †: journal: 10  
food seasoning may have an important effect on the flavour formation of meat products. Although it seems reasonable that the flavour of stewed meat products would be associated with the addition of different food seasonings, there is currently little quantitative information available concerning the relationship between seasoning addition and the flavour of stewed meat. To the best of our knowledge, salt, spices, soy sauce, sugar, and cooking wine are commonly used when cooking meat. Salt is a widely used additive in the meat industry due to its preservation and antimicrobial properties [6], and can accelerate lipid oxidation [7] to generate some lipid-related volatile compounds, such as linear-chain aldehydes and furans [8] during the heating treatment. The soy sauce and cooking wine contain many amino acids which may be the critical contributors to the characteristic flavour of the stewed pork [5; 9]. Sugar, the flavour precursors to the Maillard reaction, usually plays an important role in the generation of aroma compounds of processed food. The studies had reported that the aldehydes, pyrazines and furans generated from Maillard reaction were considered as the key compounds of pot-stewed chicken meat products [10]. The formation of methyl aldehyde and pyrazine might come from the degradation of amino acids, which were partly associated with the reaction between reducing sugars and amino acids [11]. The spices are used as flavouring ingredient and natural antioxidants [12] in the processed meat products. For example, the addition of 0.5% garlic or onion before irradiation was effective in reducing lipid oxidation and provided some garlic/onion aromas for the cooked ground beef [13]. The addition of star anise changed the composition and proportion of volatile compounds, and imparted a spicy flavour to stewed chicken [14]. Although the important contribution of volatile compounds formed in common seasonings for meat products have been fully investigated, the sources and changes of flavour compounds produced by adding seasonings in the pork stewing process remain unknown.