Abstract:

This article reviews recent advances in the investigation of volatile flavor compounds of traditional Chinese
cured meat products such as dry-cured ham, Chinese bacon, dry-cured duck, fermented sausages and dry-cured fish products
as typical representatives. In this review, we discuss the formation mechanism of volatile flavor compounds in traditional
Chinese cured meat products, elaborate the characteristic flavor compounds of different types of cured meat products,
analyze their commonness and differences, and elucidate the possible mechanism for the differences with respect to raw
material properties and processing technology. We hope that this paper can not only enrich the current understanding of the
formation mechanism of volatile flavor compounds in traditional dry-cured meat products, but also can provide the basic
theory for improving their flavor.

Key words: traditional cured meat products, volatile flavor compounds, raw material characteristics, processing