The analysis of distinctive lipid metabolism characteristics in dry-cured beef during processing

Dry-cured beef (DB), CG (control group), FG (fermented group), RG (ripened group) stages were selected to analyse the key lipid metabolites using the lipid metabolism approach based on UPLC-MS/MS. We identified 301 metabolites from 13 subclasses, with 80 markedly different lipids. Fatty acyls (FA) and glycerol phospholipids (GP) were the most abundant. Glycerophospholipid metabolism and biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids were key metabolic pathways affected during DB processing. The lipid oxidation indexes significantly rose in RG stage (<i>P</i> < 0.05). DB's hardness, springiness, gumminess, chewiness, adhesiveness, and resilience all increased significantly (<i>P</i> < 0.05), while cohesiveness decreased. Additionally, <i>L*</i> (brightness), <i>a*</i> (redness), and <i>b*</i> (yellowness) decreased significantly (<i>P</i> < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that <i>L</i>* was positively correlated with carnitine (C13:1, C15:1, C22:6), <i>b</i>*, and <i>a</i>*, which had a significant impact on DB's final quality. The research provides insights for assessing lipid-related quality control and enhancing DB production.