Temporal dynamics of aroma compounds and precursors in dry‐fried shredded beef during culinary processing

Summary This study aimed to investigate aroma compound transformation and precursor relation in dry‐shredded beef using gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, high‐performance liquid chromatography, and electronic nose technologies. Forty‐eight aroma compounds were identified, of which twelve (pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, 3‐methylbutanal, nonanal, phenylacetaldehyde, trans‐2‐decenal, acetoin, 3‐octenol, 3‐octanol, ethyl hexanoate, and 2‐acetylthiazol) exhibited odour activity values (OAVs) >1. The concentration of fatty acids (FAs) decreased progressively, while that of 19 free amino acids (FAAs) increased with prolonged cooking. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed correlations between aroma components (OAV >1), FAAs, and FAs. Specifically, 2‐acetylthiazol, acetoin, heptanal, 3‐methylbutanal, and hexanal exhibited positive correlations, while phenylacetaldehyde and trans‐2‐decenal showed inverse correlations with most FAAs. Notably, phenylacetaldehyde positively correlated with C16:0, C18:1, n9c, and C18:2, n6c. This research presents a practical framework for the application of analytical and computational techniques in the commercial production of cooked beef and meat products.