Volatile, Taste Components, and Sensory Characteristics of Commercial Brand Oyster Sauces: Comparisons and Relationships

The objectives of this study were to compare the volatile compounds, the taste compounds, and the sensory attributes, and also to determine the relationship between them in four commercial brand oyster sauces. The volatile compounds were extracted and detected by headspace-solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The sensory evaluation was carried out by 11 trained panelists. In addition, free amino acids and minerals in four samples were quantified and selected as the taste compounds. A total of 75 volatile compounds were identified with alcohols, furans, aldehydes, and pryrasines reported as the most dominant chemical classes. Most of the samples showed the clear sensory groupings with significant differences. Glutamic was the dominant free amino acid in all samples. Sweet amino acids, including threonine, serine, glycine, and alanine, corresponded to the high intensities of sweet sensory attributes by the canonical correlation analysis. Phosphate and potassium were believed to contribute the salty taste. Three sensory attributes (oyster, fishy, and fired pork dour) were highly correlated to alcohols (1-penten-3-ol), aldehydes (propanal, butanal), and pryrasines, respectively.