A tentative characterization of volatile compounds from Iberian Dry-Cured Ham according to different anatomical locations. A detailed study

The elaboration of Iberian dry-cured ham is a long process of ripening (about 2-3 years). During this time, the lipids undergo a great transformation. Several studies have been carried out to see the principal changes that occur in the lipid fraction during the dry-cured processing of Iberian ham, although these studies have been done with intramuscular fat. Reactions of hydrolysis and oxidation, which produce the degradation of the lipid fraction from adipose tissue, take place during this process (López et al., 1992; Coutron-Gambotti y Gandemer, 1999). Hydrolysis mainly affects the triacylglycerols and diacylglycerols, and to a lesser affect, the monoacylglycerols and phospholipids (Narváez-Rivas et al., 2007). On the other hand, oxidation affects the fatty acids, producing oxidized compounds that have a short life; some of them are volatile and responsible for the characteristic flavor of dry-cured ham (Antequera et al., 1992). The flavor of Iberian dry-cured ham is critical to consumer acceptance and the aroma is perhaps the most important quality parameter. It has been postulated that chemical or enzymatic reactions such as lipolysis, chemical or enzymatic oxidation, proteolysis, Strecker degradation and Maillard reactions are the origin of volatile compounds (Toldrá, 1998; Toldrá et al., 2009). Due to the chemical composition of the fat in Iberian dry-cured ham, different factors like feed, breed, etc, will be able to produce changes in it (Narváez-Rivas et al., 2009). We could suppose that lipid alteration in composition of volatile compounds should be produced as a consequence of these factors. There are several scientific studies that prove this in the literature (Gandemer, 2009). Some studies have shown that volatile compounds can be affected by feed (López et al., 1992) and the conditions of drycured processing, such as its duration, salt content and temperature conditions (Ruiz et al., 1999; Andrés RESUMEN