2-acetyl-1-pyrroline - key aroma compound in Mediterranean dried sausages

In a study characterising sausage types from various parts of Europe, ten Mediterranean and Northern European fermented, dried sausages were compared using static headspace gas chromatography-olfactometry and a sniffing panel of five members. The greatest difference between the Northern and Southern types were attributed to a burned coffee odour from smoke in the smoked sausages and a popcorn note in the Mediterranean products covered with mould.

The two compounds were 2-furfurylthiol and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, respectively. An analysis of five dried, moulded sausages showed that the surface edge of the sausages contained higher amounts of 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline than the core, indicating that the mould growing on the surface of Mediterranean products produces 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline.