Mushroom Alcohol(1-Octen-3-ol)and Other 7 Aroma Compounds Selected from Chinese Dry-Cured Hams Can Enhance Saltiness Perception.

Reducing NaCl content in food while maintaining acceptability poses a significant challenge. Odor-induced saltiness enhancement (OISE) emerges as a promising solution. This study utilized gas chromatography-olfactory (GC-O) in conjunction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify 37 key volatile compounds in three representative Chinese dry-cured hams. These compounds had an odor activity value (OAV) of >= 1 or a modification frequency (MF) of >= 30%. Subsequently, quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) identified eight odorants associated with saltiness. These included 1-octen-3-ol, nonanal, heptanal, 2-methylbu-tanal, 3-methyl-butanal, benzaldehyde, octanal, and 2,6-dimethylpyrazine. Remarkably, these odorants significantly intensified saltiness (P < 0.05) when added to a low-concentration NaCl solution (0.3%), compared to zero or high concentrations (0.75% and 0.8%). As a result, traditional Chinese salty meat products offer a promising source of odorants for enhancing saltiness, compensating for reduced NaCl content through OISE.