Volatile compounds present in six types of dry-cured ham from south European countries

A study was conducted to compare the volatile fraction of six types of dry-cured hams from south European countries: (1) France: Bayonne and Corsican hams; (2) Spain: Iberian and Serrano hams; (3) Italy: Parma and Light Italian Country hams. The analysis of the volatile compounds was carried out using a dynamic-head space technique coupled to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. One hundred and nine compounds were identified and analyzed: aldehydes (15), alcohols (14), ketones (17), esters (11), sulphur compounds (5), nitrogenous compounds (10), terpenes (18), n-alkanes (7) and aromatic and cyclic hydrocarbons (12). The possible formation pathways of these compounds are discussed. The results show that there are important differences among the six types of hams depending on the type of raw material and the technology used, the longer-processing time hams (Iberian and Corsican) being richer in volatile compounds.