The volatile composition and odor of meat and meat products is based on the precursors present in the raw meat. These are influenced by various pre-slaughter factors (species, breed, sex, age, feed, muscle type). Furthermore, post-mortem conditions (chiller aging, cooking conditions, curing, fermentation, etc.) determine the development of meat volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Volatile Compound Class | Chemical Structure | Formation | General Odor Descriptors [17][16] 1 |
---|---|---|---|
Alcohol | ![]() |
Lipid oxidation [5] Carbohydrate fermentation 2 [17][16] |
Saturated alcohols: high threshold. Straight-chain primary alcohols: flavorless. Increase in carbon chain: stronger flavor—greenish, woody, fatty floral. Unsaturated alcohols: mushroom, green leaf, musty. |
Aldehyde | ![]() |
Lipid oxidation [5] | C3 and C4: sharp and irritating. C5–C9: green, oily, fatty, tallow. C10–C12: citrus orange peel. Alkyl-branched aldehydes: malty. |
Carboxylic acid | ![]() |
Lipid oxidation [5] | Saturated acids: acidic. Unsaturated branched-chain acids: pungent, sour, penetrating. Keto acids: burnt, caramel, sour. |
Ester | ![]() |
Lipid oxidation [5] | Esters from C1–C10 acids: fruity sweet. Esters from long-chain fatty acids: fatty flavor. |
Ketone | ![]() |
Lipid oxidation [5] | Unsaturated ketones: animal fat odors. 2-Alkanones: spicy, fruity, fatty, citrus-like. Lactones: oily, fruity, buttery, fatty. |
Furan | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [16][15] Lipid oxidation [5] Carbohydrate degradation [14][17] |
Alkylfurans: grassy, beany odor. |
Furanone | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [5] | Fruity, fatty, roasty, roasted almonds, sweet aroma, pungent [11]. |
Imidazole | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [16][15] | Amine-like [pubchem.org]. |
Methylfuranthiol | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [5] Thiamine degradation [15][14] |
Meaty aroma, roast meat, boiled meat [5,15][5][14]. |
Oxazole | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [16][15] Interaction 3 [14][17] |
Green and vegetable-like [16][15]. |
Pyrazine | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [12] Interaction 3 [14][17] |
Pleasant aroma: nutty roast aroma, earthy, potato-like. |
Pyridine | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [12] Interaction 3 [14][17] |
Fatty tallow aroma. |
Pyrrole | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [12] | Burnt earthy odor. |
Thiazole | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [14][17] Interaction 3 [14][17] |
Green, vegetable-like, nutty, roasted. |
Thiophene | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [16][15] Interaction 3 [14][17] Thiamine degradation [12] Nucleotide degradation [14][17] |
Meaty aroma. |
Alkanethiol | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [5] Thiamine degradation [14][17] |
Meat-like, sulfurous, cabbage, onion, garlic-like. Associated with boiled meat. |
Alkyl sulfide | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [14][17] Thiamine degradation [14][17] |
|
Alkyl disulfide | ![]() |
Maillard reaction [16][15] Thiamine degradation [14][17] |
Classification | Volatile Compound | Relative Content (µg/g) |
Odor Descriptors | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Beef | Aldehydes | Hexadecanal | 81.41 | Cardboard [82] |
[82,83][82][83] | Nonanal | 5.39 | Fat, citrus [82,83][82][83] | |
Hexanal | 2.08 | Grass, fat [82,83][82][83] | ||
Benzaldehyde | 0.12 | Almond, burnt sugar [82] | ||
Alcohols | Z-9-octadecen-1-ol | 0.34 | Fatty, animal 1 | |
1-octen-3-ol | 0.16 | Mushroom [82,83][82][83] | ||
Ketones | 3-Hydroxy-2-butanone | 0.70 | Buttery, creamy, fatty, sweet [84] | |
2-Octadecanone | 0.55 | Green 1 | ||
Carboxylic acids | Hexanoic acid | 0.89 | Sweat [82] | |
2,4-Hexadienoic acid | 0.21 | Acrid [85] | ||
Nonanoic acid | 0.03 | Fatty, cheese [86] | ||
Esters | Ethyl acetate | 50.58 | Pineapple [82] | |
Ethyl 9-hexadecenoate | 0.18 | Fruity [87] | ||
Furans | 5-Methyl-2-acetylfuran | 0.71 | Nutty [88] | |
Tetrahydrofuran | 0.66 | Butter, caramel [89] | ||
Heterocyclic | 3,5-Diethyl-1,2,4-trithiocyclopentane | 2.85 | Beef aroma [90] | |
Pork [91,92][91][92] |
Aldehydes | Nonanal | 2.86 | Fatty, floral, wax [93] |
Benzaldehyde | 2.53 | Bitter almond [93] | ||
Octanal | 1.97 | Fatty, pungent [93] | ||
Trans-2-nonenal | 1.47 | Cucumber, farinaceous, greasy, grassy [94,95][94][95] | ||
Heptanal | 1.25 | Fatty, putty [93] | ||
Hexanal | 0.95 | Green, grass [93] | ||
Alcohols | 3-Methyl-1-butanol | 3.10 | Pungent [96] | |
Hexanol | 1.11 | Woody, cut grass, chemical-winey, fatty, fruity, weak metallic [54] | ||
1-Octen-3-ol | 0.83 | Mushroom [93] | ||
3-Methyl-3-buten-1-ol | 0.34 | Sweet fruity 1 | ||
Ketones | 2-Butanone | 0.83 | Chemical, burnt, gas, chocolate [97] | |
2-Heptanone | 0.80 | Citrus, grapefruit, floral, fruity, spicy, cinnamon [54,98][54][98] | ||
Esters | γ-Butyrolactone | 0.96 | Creamy, pleasant, sweet [84] | |
Ethyl 2-methylbutanoate | 0.35 | Fruity, strawberry-like [99] | ||
Carboxylic acids | Hexanoic acid | 0.81 | Goaty [11] | |
Nonanoic acid | 0.25 | Fatty, cheese [86] | ||
Sulfur compounds | Methional | 1.74 | Cooked potato, roasted [100] | |
Dimethyl disulfide | 1.24 | Moldy, pungent, rubbery, onion-like [101] |
||
Pyrazines | 2,5-Dimethyl pyrazine | 0.24 | Nutty, musty, earthy, roasted, cocoa powder [102] | |
Furans | 2-Pentylfuran | 1.29 | Green bean, butter [54] | |
Chicken | Aldehydes | P-methoxybenzaldehyde | 20.90 | Anisic 1, hawthorn-like [103] |
[104,105,106][104][105][106] | Benzaldehyde | 9.88 | Almond, bitter almond, burnt sugar [82,93][82][93] | |
Nonanal | 0.73 | Fatty, citrus, floral, wax [82,83,93][82][83][93] | ||
Alcohols | 1-Octen-3-ol | 0.06 | Shiitake mushroom [106] | |
Ketones | P-methoxypropiophenone | 0.39 | Musty, anisic 1 | |
Esters | Trans vinyl cinnamate | 0.92 | NR 2 | |
Furans | 2-Pentylfuran | 0.81 | Green bean, butter [54] | |
2-Acetylfuran | 0.21 | Butter, meaty [103] | ||
Lamb | Aldehydes | Hexanal | 109.23 | Apple, leaf, delicate [107] |
[107,108][107][108] | Heptanal | 31.32 | Nutty, fruity green [107] | |
(E)-2-nonenal | 30.09 | Fatty, paper [103] | ||
Nonanal | 18.25 | Fatty, rancid [107] | ||
Benzaldehyde | 13.09 | Almond, bitter almond, burnt sugar [82,93][82][93] | ||
Alcohols | Hexanol | 12.42 | Woody, cut grass, chemical-winey, fatty, fruity, weak metallic [54] | |
Carboxylic acids | 4-Methylnonanoic acid | 316.73 | Sweet muttony or goaty [109] | |
4-Ethyloctanoic acid | 186.22 | Sweet muttony or goaty [109] | ||
Acetic acid | 5.09 | Pungent, acidic, cheesy, vinegar [84] | ||
Esters | Ethyl dodecanoate | 6.18 | Fatty [110] | |
Furans | 2-Methyl-5-(methylthio)furan | 36.09 | Meat, onion [111] | |
2-Pentylfuran | 24.21 | Green bean, butter [54] | ||
Pyrazines | 2,3,5,6-Tetramethylpyrazine | 15.52 | Chocolate-like [112] | |
Sulfur compounds | Benzyl methyl sulfide | 4.88 | Roasted, muttony, burning [113] |