Abstract:

Effects of commercial starter cultures on improvement of both color and flavor of northern air-dried sausage were
studied. Naturally fermented sausage without commercial starter cultures served as a control. Three kinds of starter cultures
not producing acid and having the reddening and flavoring features were chosen according to product characteristics.
The changes in color during different phases were measured. Sensory and flavor evaluation of the final product were also
conducted by both gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and electronic nose. The results showed that all the
three starter cultures contributed to good color and significantly increased redness (a*) value. Electronic nose sensors could
identify four groups, which illustrated that the flavor was changed after adding starter cultures. The GC-MS results indicated
that both S-SX and T-SC-200 starter cultures played an important role in the increase of flavor substances, especially
aldehyde, ketones and esters. S-SX treatment group got the highest synthetic scores, contributing to better flavor and taste
based on sensory analysis.

Key words: starter culture, northern air-dried sausage, color, flavor