Abstract: Purpose: To gain a deep understanding of the flavor characteristics of stewed beef from different parts of the carcass (high rib, rump, shin, flank and chuck tender). Methods: Sensory evaluation, electronic tongue, fast GC electronic nose (E-nose) and simultaneous distillation extraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SDE-GC-MS) were used to analyze quantitatively and qualitatively the composition of flavor compounds. Results: Sensory evaluation revealed that stewed flank had a strong beefy and fatty aroma and a fleshy taste with the best stewed mouthfeel. The results of electronic tongue analysis showed that the taste of all samples was significantly different. The fast GC electronic nose revealed significant differences in radar images among the five beef cuts. Meanwhile, a total of 98 volatile compounds were detected by SDE-GC-MS. Among these, aldehydes were the most abundant, followed by alcohols and ketones. There were 44, 50, 20, 31, and 47 compounds detected in stewed shin, chuck tender, flank, rump and high rib, respectively. Conclusion: The results from this study provide a theoretical basis for the establishment of stewed beef flavor database.

Key words: stewed beef, electronic tongue, fast GC E-nose, simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)