Insight into the dynamic change of flavor profiles and their correlation with microbial community succession and lipid oxidation during the processing of dry-cured duck

Microbial community and lipid oxidation play an important role in flavor development of dry-cured duck. To explore the dynamic changes in microbial community succession, oxidative properties and flavor profiles during the processing of dry-cured duck and the relationships between them, the samples were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing, peroxide values, electronic nose and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and their relationships were established by multivariate statistical analysis. The results showed that the changes in lipid oxidation were related to the processing technology, especially the air-drying time. Thirty-five volatiles were identified, of which nonanal, 1-octen-3-ol, hexanal, benzaldehyde, and 2-pentylfuran were the characteristic aroma compounds. Staphylococcus, Vibrio, and Lactococcus were the dominant genera during the processing. Staphylococcus and Lactococcus were positively correlated with the characteristic flavor compounds and lipid oxidation products. These findings offer novel insights into the flavor formation of dry-cured ducks and offer deeper theoretical guidance for their preparation and production.