Elucidation of Key Aroma Compounds in Steamed and Roasted Cultivated Pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) by Means of the Sensomics Approach

Cultivated pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) is a valuable sustainable source of nutritious and tasty food. The Sensomics approach was applied to elucidate the impact of cooking on the aroma of steamed and roasted pufferfish (STR, RTR) by solvent-assisted flavor evaporation, identification, quantitation, aroma recombination, and omission studies. Thirty-five odor-active compounds were characterized by flavor dilution factors of 4 to 2048. The concentrations of selected odorants ranged from 0.06 to 95653 μg/kg. Trimethylamine, 2,3-pentanedione, acetoin, (Z)-4-heptenal, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, nonanal, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-diethyl-5-methylpyrazine, (E)-2-nonenal, (E,Z)-2,6-nonadienal, 2-acetylthiazole, 2-acetyl-2-thiazoline, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, and 4-hydroxy-5-methyl-3(2H)-furanone contributed to the aroma of STR and RTR, while 2- and 3-methylbutanal and dimethyl disulfide were more pronounced in the RTR aroma. Compared with STR, higher amounts of trimethylamine, (Z)-4-heptenal, and Maillard-derived odorants like 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone and ethyl-substituted pyrazines contributed to the stronger fishy and caramel-like/roasted notes of RTR, respectively. Cooking at high temperatures and prolonged time could promote the generation of pleasant sensorial attributes of pufferfish.