Aroma components and sensory evaluation of Pixian Douban sauce

Objective: This study aimed to explore the aroma differences of Pixian bean paste from different brands and establish an analytical method for quality evaluation and quality control methods in Douban Sauce, based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques along with sensory evaluation. Methods: Three different brands of Pixian Douban Sauce were selected as the research objects. SPME and GC-MS techniques were used to extract and qualitatively analyze the aroma components, and the sensory evaluation of the three types of Pixian Douban Sauce was conducted based on current effective group standards. Results: 57, 90, and 70 volatile flavor compounds were identified in brands T, J, and C Pixian Douban Sauce, and 46, 70, and 60 were identified in the database. Excluding impurity peaks and extremely low content fragment peaks, the flavor substances of brands T, J, and C are 32, 47, and 43, respectively. Brand J has the highest sensory rating, followed by brand T, and brand C has the lowest. Based on the analysis of aroma components and content, the relative content of 3-methylbutyraldehyde and 2-methylbutyraldehyde (both with apple aroma and a pleasant feeling) in brand J is higher than the other two brands, and only furfural with a relative content greater than 3% was detected in brand C. Conclusion: The combination of SPME-GC-MS technology and sensory evaluation analysis can distinguish the aroma components of different brands of Pixian Douban Sauce.