The Flavor Change Mechanism of Gushi Goose Nuggets at Different Processing Stages Analyzed by GC-MS Combined with Chemometrics

To explore the flavor changes of Gushi goose nuggets of Henan, Xinyang during processing, GC-MS was used to analyze the volatile components of Gushi goose block samples at four different processing stages, and a comparative study was conducted by combining chemometrics methods. The results showed that a total of 24 volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS, which could be divided into aldehydes, ketones, esters, thioethers, alcohols and others. Among them, the proportion of alcohol volatile flavor substances reached 83.38% and 83.39% after stewing and sterilization, respectively, with high proportions of ethanol and acetaldehyde. The proportion of ketone volatile flavor substances increased gradually with the progression of processing stages, imparting fruity, fresh, and buttery aromas to the goose cubes. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that there were statistical differences in the characteristic flavor components of different samples. The ROAV method determined 7, 5, 4, and 4 key volatile flavor substances for each sample, respectively, among which aldehydes were the key volatile flavor components for all four processing stages, positively contributing to the flavor of Gushi goose cubes at different processing stages. Based on the results of GC-MS, the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis model, principal component analysis and cluster analysis showed that the flavor of the samples after stewing and sterilization was close, indicating that the sterilization had a great influence on the flavor of Gushi goose products. This study is of great significance to improve the deep processing level and large-scale production of Xinyang Gushi goose blocks, as well as enhance the added value of Xinyang dishes.