Iberian ham headspace: odorants of intermuscular fat and differences with lean

The odorants from the intermuscular fat of Iberian ham were characterised for the first time and compared with those of the lean. A headspace extraction method and gas chromatography-olfactometry based on the detection frequency method were used. Compounds contributing to intermuscular fat odour were aldehydes (9), ketones (3), esters (2), nitrogen-containing compounds (2), and one alcohol (1-octen-3-ol). Eight odorants were identified for the first time as constituents of dry-cured ham fat. The most potent odorants were hexanal and (Z)-3-hexenal, 3-methylbutanal, 1 -octen-3-one and 1-octen-3-ol and 2-methylpropanal. Significant differences with odorants from the lean of the same hams were found; the largest differences appeared in sulfur-containing compounds (specifically hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol and 2-methyl-3-furanthiol), which seem not to contribute to fat odour but are some of the most potent odorants of lean. Significant and large differences were also found for other compounds such as 1-octen-3-one and 1-octen-3-ol, ethyl 2-methylpropanoate, 2-pentanone and 2,3-butanedione.