Abstract:

Five different methods were used to dry the same variety of chilli. In addition, the natural drying method was used to dry five varieties of chilli. Volatile aroma composition in the dried chilies was analyzed by GC-MS, and the analytical data were subjected to clustering analysis based on the whole consideration for kind and content of the common components. Results showed that: 1) the same variety of chilli dried by different methods revealed different volatile aroma compositions resulting in difference in aromatic smell. When the five drying methods were divided into three categories, the maximum value of λ could be 0.97108. 2) the five varieties of natural dried chilies also revealed different volatile aroma compositions, and smelled different aromas. When these varieties were divided into four categories, the maximum value of λ could be 0.943.

Key words: dried chilli, volatile aroma compounds, solid phase microextraction (SPME), clustering analysis