Unraveling the formation of key aroma compounds in roasted pork during air frying: A complementary approach using GC-IMS, GC-O-MS, and GC × GC–MS

The change of aroma fingerprint and its corresponding precursors during pork roasting remains unclear. The formation of key aroma compounds in roasted pork was determined through multidimensional mass spectrometry. The results indicated that the roasted pork exhibited pronounced roasty, fatty, meaty, sweet, and grassy notes. Thirty-nine key aroma compounds were identified, such as 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, (<i>E, E</i>)-2,4-nonadienal, and 1-octen-3-ol. Particularly, the pyrazines and unsaturated aldehydes were key contributors to the roasty and fatty aromas, respectively. The linoleic acid and oleic acid served as critical precursors for the generation of carbonyls and alcohols. The glucose, arginine, glycine, and alanine were essential precursors for the formation of pyrazines. Notably, the 1-octen-3-ol emerged as a key marker discriminating different roasting durations. The structural unfolding of proteins facilitated both the generation and retention of key odorants. These findings provided new insight for targeted regulation and quality control of aroma development in roasted meat products.