Abstract: To inhibit spoilage and deterioration during the storage of cold spicy rabbit, this study used mature and tender ginger extract obtained by subcritical extraction to make cold spicy rabbit. The volatile flavor substances of the extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and their optimal concentrations were determined through sensory evaluation. We further explored their effects on the microbiological (total colony count (TCC), Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, and total coliform) and physicochemical (pH, peroxide value (POV), and acid value (AV)) properties of cold spicy rabbit after storage periods of 0, 1, 5, 15, and 20 days. The results showed that a total of 83 volatile components were detected in the two ginger extracts, with 30 volatile components being common to both. The relative contents of α-farnene and β-bisabolene were higher and the content of geranyl acetate was significantly lower in the mature ginger extract than in the tender ginger extract. Sensory evaluation showed that for both extracts, the optimal concentration that resulted in the highest sensory scores was 0.05%. The two ginger extracts effectively inhibited the growth of microorganisms in cold spicy rabbit during storage, with the tender ginger extract being more effective than the mature ginger extract. Both of them had the most potent inhibitory effect on Salmonella. On day 20, the colony counts in the blank and control groups reached (9.48 ± 0.61) and (7.88 ± 0.56) (lg(CFU/mL)), respectively, significantly higher than those in the tender and mature ginger extract groups (P < 0.05), (6.89 ± 0.36) and (7.30 ± 0.33) (lg(CFU/mL)), respectively. The pH, POV and AV of the ginger extract groups were significantly lower than those of the blank group, indicating that the ginger extracts could effectively slow down fat oxidation in cold spicy rabbit during storage. This study provides a theoretical basis for the application of ginger extracts as a natural preservative in cold spicy rabbit, with important implications for the industry.

Key words: ginger extracts; subcritical extraction; cold spicy rabbit; microorganisms; physicochemical indexes