Analysis of volatile compounds by GC–MS of a dry fermented sausage: chorizo de Pamplona

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Abstract

The profile of volatile compounds of a typical Spanish dry fermented sausage, chorizo de Pamplona, has been analyzed by GC–MS, using a simultaneous distillation-extraction (SDE) system. Qualitative and quantitative differences were found in the volatile profiles obtained in the five analyzed commercial brands. One hundred and ninety-three different substances were isolated, the group of acids being the most important from a quantitative point of view in all brands, accounting at least for the 60% of the total area. Aldehydes, basically from lipid oxidation, contributed between 7.72 and 13.97% to the total amount. Acids and aldehydes were the chemical families that showed the lowest variability among brands. In contrast, esters showed the highest coefficient of variation among brands (111%), followed by phenols (82%) and terpenes (76%). The variability observed in these three families could be attributed respectively to the different starter cultures, smoking process and spices employed in their production. Butylated hydroxytoluene (added as an antioxidant, E-321) was the third most abundant compound in three of the five brands.

Introduction

Chorizo de Pamplona is a traditional dry fermented sausage with a relevant interest in the meat industry of Spain. Some studies about the chemical and microbiological processes that take place during the ripening (Astiasaran et al., 1990, Astiasaran et al., 1990, Gimeno et al., 2000, Gorospe et al., 1989), which are the origin of the sensorial properties of this product, have been carried out.

One important sensory property which has been hardly studied is the “flavour” of the product. Many studies have been carried out to study the flavour of different cured meat products. Volatile components of dry cured ham have been studied by Berdague et al., 1991, Buscailhon et al., 1993, Hinrichsen and Pedersen, 1995, Dirinck et al., 1997. Aroma components from dried sausages fermented with Staphylococcus xylosus were described by Stahnke, 1994, Stahnke, 1995, Stahnke, 1999a, Stahnke, 1996b, Johansson et al., 1994 followed the evolution of volatile compounds during the ripening of a fermented sausage elaborated with Pediococcus pentosaceus and S. xylosus as starter cultures. Berger, Macku, German and Shibamoto (1990) identified 68 different compounds in dry salami whereas Croizet, Denoyer, Tran and Berdagué (1992) identified 53 in dry saucisson. Meynier, Novelli, Chizzolini, Zanardi and Gandemer (1999) studied the relationship between the volatile compounds isolated from commercial Milano salami and their olfactory properties. In chorizo, Mateo and Zumalacárregui (1996b) published results of the analysis of both traditional and industrial chorizo and detected 126 peaks among which 115 were identified. In this paper, these authors found that acetic acid, allyl-1-thiol and phenol were the major components for their products.

Most of these studies have been carried out using a dynamic headspace system of extraction of the volatile compounds. However, a simultaneous steam distillation–extraction (SDE) with a modified Likens–Nickerson apparatus for the isolation of the compounds was used by Mateo and Zumalacarregui, 1996b, Dirinck et al., 1997. The latter authors compared the SDE extraction and the dynamic headspace isolation to study differences between northern and southern European cured hams. They concluded that because reliable semi-quantitative data were aimed at, SDE extraction should be preferred over dynamic headspace isolation. In this work, in order to make a “total volatile analysis” of the product, the Likens–Nickerson system of isolation of these compounds was chosen.

The objective of the present study was to analyze the profile of the volatile compounds of different commercial brands of chorizo de Pamplona to increase the knowledge of the substances responsible for its characteristic flavour.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Four sausages of five different commercial brands of chorizo de Pamplona were randomly purchased at different supermarkets of the city (Pamplona, Navarra, Spain). They were frozen and stored at −20°C until the analysis. The common ingredients used in this type of products are: lean pork meat, pork back fat, salt, sugars (dextrin, lactose, dextrose), sodium ascorbate, nitrites and/or nitrates, red pepper, spices, colorants (Ponceau 4R E-124) and exogenous proteins (powdered milk or sodium

Results and discussion

The efficiency of the simultaneous steam distillation–extraction method for its isolation of volatiles in meat products over dynamic headspace has been proven. Dirink et al. (1997) compared the two procedures for isolation of volatiles from hams concluding that SDE extraction have advantages especially due to the higher number of different volatiles isolated and better reproducibility.

One hundred ninety-three different compounds were isolated from the five analyzed commercial brands of chorizo

Acknowledgements

We thank Professor Mohino for scientific advice. We also thank the Government of Navarra, the Fundación Roviralta and the Fundación Empresa-Universidad for their financial support.

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