Effect of smelting temperatures on the odor compounds of beef tallow through instrumental and sensory techniques

Odor is an important indicator to evaluate the quality of beef tallow. As a key step in the production process of beef tallow, the temperature of smelting directly affects its odor quality. In this study, solid-phase microextraction (SPME)–gas chromatography–olfactometry–mass spectrometry (GC–O–MS) combined with sensory evaluation was used to explore the effect of different smelting temperatures (110–160 °C) on the formation of odor compounds. A total of 37 odor compounds were identified, among which aldehydes were the most prolific. As the smelting temperature increased, the proportion of aldehydes and alcohols increased, but that of acids decreased. Furthermore, the weight score of sensory evaluation, as well as the content and number of odor compounds of beef tallow was the highest at 155 °C. According to orthogonal partial least squares regression (OPLS) and odor activity value (OAV), 1-octen-3-ol, ( E )− 2-octenal, ( E )− 2-nonenal and nonanal were the most distinguishable odor compounds at different smelting temperatures.