Salt-induced flavor metamorphosis in plums: A GC-IMS comparative study unraveling cultivar-dependent aroma evolution

This study investigated flavor evolution in four plum varieties, namely 'Tuogu' plum (TG), 'Bingtang' plum (BT), 'Qilin' plum (QL) and 'Pingguo' plum (PG) during salting using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS). We identified 57 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in fresh/salted fruits, with eight key VOCs (heptanal, propanal, 3-methylbutanal, etc.) contributing apple, grassy, and fruity notes through ROAV analysis. Fresh TG exhibited dominant grassy/fruity flavors from heptanal and hexanal, while BT/QL/PG showed stronger apple notes from 3-methylbutyraldehyde. Salting reduced aldehydes but increased esters/alkenes/alcohols, with eight VOCs showing significant changes. Notably, S-TG preserved original aromas, whereas S-PG underwent flavor remodeling. Metabolic pathway modulation drove the transition from fresh grassy to complex salted-fruity profiles, providing critical insights for plum processing optimization.