Characterization of aroma-active compounds changes of Xiecun Huangjius with different aging years based on odor activity values and multivariate analysis.Food Chem. 2023 Mar 30; 405(Pt A):134809.FC
Aging is an indispensable process to endow Huangjiu with harmonious and pleasant fragrances. To elucidate the effects of aging time on aroma characteristics of Xiecun Huangjius, 5 samples aged for different years (3 to 9 years) were investigated by sensory evaluation, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry/detection frequency (GC-MS-O/DF), and odor activity values (OAV) analysis. Sensory results showed significant differences existed among different aged Xiecun Huangjius. Totally, 54 compounds in Xiecun Huangjius were identified by GC-MS and further quantified. Of these, 16 were confirmed as key aroma-active compounds with high OAVs and DFs. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) indicated that the old-aged Y9 sample was greatly related to most aroma-active compounds, thus presented the coordinated overall flavor. Together with orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), 4 compounds (diethyl succinate, furfural, nonanal and isoamyl alcohol) were determined as the main markers for classification of the old-aged Y9 and the other-aged samples.