Effects of puffing on the quality of dried pork tendons: Structure and flavor

Abstract To improve the portability of dried pork tendons for consumption, we investigated the effects of different puffing temperatures (190 °C - 250 °C) and times (1-7 min) on the quality and flavor of pork tendons. As the temperature and time increased, the expansion ratio of pork tendons exhibited a gradual increase, while the bulk density exhibited a gradual decrease. Moreover, the microstructure of the puffed pork tendons exhibited a uniform porous structure at 230 °C and 250 °C for 6 min. However, further puffing treatment destroyed the spatial structure, causing the void to collapse. Amino acid analysis of puffed pork tendons revealed the presence of 17 free amino acids. In addition, HS-GC-IMS identified 68 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with the combination of GC-MS analysis indicating that the flavor of pork tendons puffed at 230 °C for 6 min was superior. Our findings provide new insights into the processing of dried pork tendons.