ABSTRACT
Pork and pork-related products are very popular among consumers due to their high nutritional value and appealing sensory qualities. Generally speaking, uncooked meats have a bloody taste with very little flavour[1], and raw pig meat also tends to have a ‘sour’ smell. However, once cooked, pork has a desirable flavour dependent on a variety of factors that include not only the methods used for processing and cooking, but also any additives, such as spices, used during processing or cooking. The ‘meaty’ flavour of pork results from interactions of flavour precursors with the appropriate amount of heat[2]. Two major pathways are involved in the formation of meat volatile flavour compounds during the cooking process. These include the Maillard reaction that occurs when reducing sugars and amino acids interact at high temperatures, resulting in water-soluble components, and the oxidative degradation of lipids[3]. These water-soluble pork flavour precursors consist of a large number of organic compounds, including free sugars, sugar phosphates, sugar amines, free amino acids, peptides, nucleotides, nucleosides, nucleic acids, glycogen, amines and other nitrogenous compounds, such as thiamine[1,4]. The fatty aromas generated by lipid degradation determine the differences between the flavour profiles of cooked meats from different species[4].
