Generation of flavour compounds in fermented sausages—the influence of curing ingredients, Staphylococcus starter culture and ripening time

The volatile profiles of fermented sausages made with either Staphylococcus xylosus or Staphylococcus carnosus starter cultures were studied with regard to the influence of salt concentration, ripening time and three different combinations of curing ingredients—nitrate, nitrite or nitrite/ascorbate. Emphasis was laid on volatile compounds originating from degradation of branched-chain amino acids. Volatile compounds were collected using dynamic headspace sampling and were identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Development in water activity, water loss and pH was monitored throughout maturation. Curing salts had a pronounced effect on the level of volatile compounds. In particular, curing with nitrate instead of nitrite resulted in a striking difference. Generally, nitrate increased the level of volatile compounds compared to nitrite, whereas ascorbate had only a small influence. The concentration level of NaCl had a considerable effect on the amount of volatile compounds but the effect was highly related to the ripening stage. Most compounds, but not all, increased in concentration as ripening proceeded. Major differences in the development of volatile compounds were observed depending on whether S. xylosus or S. carnosus were used as starter culture. In particular the effects of nitrate was much more predominant in the sausages made with S. carnosus than S.xylosus.