Development of volatile compounds during the manufacture of dry-cured "lacón," a Spanish traditional meat product.

Volatile compounds were determined throughout the manufacture of dry-cured "lacón," a traditional dry-salted, and ripened meat product made in the north-west of Spain from the foreleg of the pig following a similar process to that of dry-cured ham. Volatiles were extracted by a purge-and-trap method and analyzed by gas chromatographic/mass spectrometry. One hundred and two volatile compounds were identified. In raw material, only 34 volatile compounds were found and at very low levels. The number of volatile compounds increased during processing. The substances identified belonged to several chemical classes: aldehydes (23), alcohols (9), ketones (15), hydrocarbons (37), esters (4), acids (3), furans (4), sulphur compounds (1), chloride compounds (1), and other compounds (4). Results indicated that the most abundant chemical family in flavor at the end of the manufacturing process was aldehydes, followed by hydrocarbons and ketones. Lipids were the most important precursor of flavor compounds of dry-cured "lacón."