Comparison of quality and volatile components among five brands of cod sausages

Five brands of cod sausages were evaluated for their gel properties, fatty acid composition and volatile components. Their gel strengths were 3 394.39 g·mm, 3 109.18 g·mm, 2 790.72 g·mm, 3 204.49 g·mm, 3 742.91 g·mm, respectively, while the whiteness was 69.61, 66.63, 63.88, 76.46 and 76.78, respectively. A total of 17, 15, 22, 19 and 15 fatty acids were detected. The contents of oleic acid, linoleic acid and palmitic acid were relatively high, while the relative contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids were 17.87%, 26.42%, 16.92%, 59.56% and 59.27%, respectively. The total amount of EPA and DHA in Brand B was the highest (18.00%). A total of 83 volatile components were identified, including six aldehydes, five ketones, six acid-phenols, 25 hydrocarbons, eight alcohols, 22 esters and 11 other components. Acid-phenols were the most in Brand A (61.12%) but only 7.66% in Brand B. The relative content of esters in Brand B was higher than those of the other components, reaching 50.68%. The volatiles were mainly composed of acid-phenols and esters in Brand C. In Brand D and Brand E, esters were the most, reaching 43.12% and 38.48%, respectively.