## 3 Results and Discussion
### Evaluation of Volatile Compounds during the Processing of Smoked Dry-Cured Ham
This content increased as the production process progressed, and the highest levels were found in SM after the ripening phase (52.27%). In BF, after the smoking and drying phases, the internal muscle phenolic compounds had a slower diffusion than SM and their content was 1.92 and 3.03%, respectively. After the ripening phase, a higher amount of phenols was detected in BF muscle (23.22%). The results of this study are in agreement with the phenol content at the end of ripening in Dalmatinski prsut [51]. The most abundant phenols were: 2-methylphenol, 4-methylpheno, 2-methoxyphenol, 3,4-dimethylphenol, and 2,6-dimethoxyphenol which had higher content in SM muscle. Alcohols were the third main chemical group of compounds observed in the production of smoked dry-cured ham. Alcohol content slightly decreased during the production process in BF muscle (19.97% in raw ham and 15.95% at the end of ripening). However, in SM the alcohol content decreased significantly during the processing (21.23% in raw ham and 6.46% after ripening), which correlates with phenol increase, especially in SM muscle. In this regard, BF showed higher levels of total alcohols than SM, which is in agreement with other studies [14; 52]. Seventeen alcohols were identified. Alcohols, especially straight-chain aliphatic alcohols, are formed as reaction products of lipid oxidation, while methyl-branched alcohols may originate from the Strecker degradation of amino acids [52]. Alcohols are often described as an important component of meat volatiles due to their low odor threshold, making them crucial contributors to the aroma of dry-cured meat products [53]. 1-Pentanol, 2-furanmethanol, 1-heptanol, 1-octen-3-ol, 3-octen-1-ol, 1-octanol and phenylethyl alcohol were the most abundant after the ripening phase in the production of smoked dry-cured ham and showed higher amounts in BF than in SM. 2-Furanmethanol, is the alcohol found only in smoked dry-cured ham [51] which is consistent with this study; 2-furanmethanol was found after the smoking phase and showed an increase at the end of the ripening phase. A higher amount was found in the SM muscle, which may be due to the external position of the muscle which is constant with other studies [52]. Alcohols with low odor thresholds found in higher amounts in this study (1-octen-3-ol and 1-octanol) have sharp, fatty, rancid, and mushroom like odors [14]. Moreover, these alcohols are found in almost all studies on dry-cured products and remain in high concentrations during the curing process, as reported by other authors [1; 53]. In BF, ketones increased significantly after the salting phase and remained constant at the end of the ripening phase. In SM, a different trend was observed: they increased after the smoking phase, remained constant during the drying phase, and then decreased in the final ripening phase. At the ripening phase ketones had similar amounts in both muscles (7.42 and 8.08% in BF and SM, respectively). The results of this study regarding ketone evolution were similar to those reported by for Celta dry-cured ham [8], in which ketones levels dropped in the final phase of production and showed similar amounts in both BF and SM muscles. In raw ham, 2 ketones were identified, 4 after salting, 8 after smoking and drying and 11 after the ripening phase, indicating that a range of different ketones are formed as the production process progresses. Ketones can be formed by lipid autoxidation or microbial metabolism [10]. Ketones contribute to the aroma of dry-cured ham and have fatty aromas which are associated with cooked meats and the sensory note of blue cheese [52]. 2,5-Octanedienone was the most abundant ketone in all stages of production of smoked dry-cured ham. 2-Ketones have a significant influence on the aroma of meat products due to their large quantities [8]. The 2-ketones detected in the present study were: 2-butanone, 2-heptanone, and 2-nonanone. 2-Heptanone and 2-nonanone were among the most abundant 2-ketones and showed the highest levels after the ripening phase.