Abstract: Allium is the most common vegetable and condiment herb used in Chinese dishes, and its unique flavor can mask the unpleasant odor of other ingredients. The matrix of Allium is complex and diverse, having low contents of volatile flavor components. In particular, some key aroma substances with heat susceptibility and low thresholds in Allium are lost and changed easily during pretreatment and subsequent processing, causing flavor changes. In this paper, recent studies on the volatile flavor compounds of Allium are summarized, and future research directions are discussed as well. Combining new precision instruments with molecular sensory science will enable us to further understand the change in and formation mechanism of the flavor of Allium during processing in the future, which will provide a theoretical basis for controlling the flavor quality of Allium in order to promote the development of the Allium industry.

Key words: Allium;?volatile?compounds;?flavor