Flavor profile of dried shrimp at different processing stages

Dried shrimp is one of the most widely consumed aquatic products, with a pleasant flavor profile. The flavor profiles of shrimp samples at different process stages (raw, boiled, dried for 2 h, and dried for 4 h) was obtained using the electronic nose (e-nose), gas chromatography (GC)-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with solid-phase microextraction. The odor activity value (OAV) was calculated to determine aroma-active compounds. According to the PCA scoring plot of e-nose, the aroma profiles of boiled and dried shrimp were similar, except for that of raw shrimp. GC-IMS could efficiently distinguish shrimp samples and establish a flavor fingerprint for dried shrimp. Quantity analysis findings showed that boiling significantly enhanced the total content of volatile compounds from 193.62 ng/g to 387.65 ng/g in shrimp. In boiled shrimp, 1-octene-3-ol, octanal, and hexanal were identified as aroma-active compounds. Trimethylamine and pyrazines were mainly produced during the drying period, and pyrazines considerably increased by 47.16 ng/g in the later drying period. 2-Ethyl-5-methyl-pyrazine, octanal, trimethylamine, 1-octene-3-ol, and hexanal majorly contributed to the flavor of dried shrimp. These results indicate that the boiling and later drying periods are vital stages for enhancing flavor quality.