Dynamic changes in taste and volatile profiles of stewed chicken with Armillaria mellea during the stewing process

Stewed chicken with Armillaria mellea (SCAM) is a traditional Chinese dish, which is widely favored in China for its distinctive flavor . Stewing represents a critical processing step of SCAM. In this study, the effects of stewing time on flavor quality of SCAM were investigated through monitoring the dynamic changes in flavor. Additionally, the study explored the effect of blanching and rehydration pre-treatments on the attributes of both chicken and mushroom. Results showed that mushroom rehydration at 65°C for 120 min achieved optimal rehydration rate while preserving ideal texture. A 5 min blanching yielded superior color and texture characteristics. SCAM stewed for 40 min (T4) exhibited high textural and color characteristics. Furthermore, superior flavor profiles were also observed in group T4, including umami and sweet amino acids, taste value, EUC, PUI, TAV, and aroma qualities. The partial least squares discriminant analysis further confirmed the flavor differences in different stewing times. Five compounds including Glu, Ala, lenthionine, ( E )-2-octenal, and 2,6-dimethylpyrazine were screened as the differential markers based on machine learning. These findings provide valuable insights for improving the flavor quality and industrial production of SCAM.