TASTE COMPOUNDS IN CHORIZO AND THEIR CHANGES DURING RIPENING

Taste compounds in chorizo-a dry fermented sausage-prepared by both tr aditional and industrial methods, i.e. D- and L-lactic acid, acetic ac id, fr ee amino acids and ATP derivatives, were analysed. Industrial c horizo contained larger amounts of D-lactic, L-lactic and acetic acids , several amino acids (e.g. gamma-aminobutyric acid, phenylalanine) an d hypoxanthine (Hx) than the traditional one (p < 0.05). The variation s in taste compounds during the ripening of chorizo were tracked. D-La ctic and acetic acid increased, as well as most of the amino acids. AT P derivatives showed characteristic changes, IMP decreased on the firs t day and inosine (Ino) changed gradually to Hx during ripening. The t aste compounds contents of garlic and paprika were studied. There was an important contribution of asparagine from spices to the initial mix ture of sausage. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd