Contribution to aroma characteristics of mutton process flavor from the enzymatic hydrolysate of sheep bone protein assessed by descriptive sensory analysis and gas chromatography olfactometry

Changes in the aroma characteristics of mutton process flavors (MPFs) prepared from sheep bone protein hydrolysates (SBPHs) with different degrees of hydrolysis (DH) were evaluated using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC–O), and descriptive sensory analysis (DSA). Five attributes (muttony, meaty, roasted, mouthful, and simulate) were selected to assess MPFs. The results of DSA showed a distinct difference among the control sample MPF0 and other MPF samples with added SBPHs for different DHs of almost all sensory attributes. MPF5 (DH 25.92%) was the strongest in the muttony, meaty, and roasted attributes, whereas MPF6 (DH 30.89%) was the strongest in the simulate and roasted attributes. Thirty-six compounds were identified as odor-active compounds for the evaluation of the sensory characteristics of MPFs via GC–MS–O analysis. The results of correlation analysis among odor-active compounds, molecular weight, and DSA further confirmed that the SBPH with a DH range of 25.92–30.89% may be a desirable precursor for the sensory characteristics of MPF.