Effect of Pork from Different Pig Breeds on Eating Quality of Fermented Sausages

Chilled pork from three pig breeds, namely indigenous black, Yangguang and three-way crossbred pigs were inoculated with a commercial starter culture containing Staphylococcus xylosus and Pediococcus pentosus for the preparation of sliced ready-to-eat fermented sausages that can cater to the taste of Chinese consumers. By doing so, we aimed to analyze the effects of different raw meats on the physicochemical characteristics, flavor and sensory properties of fermented sausages. The results showed that the overall acceptability of the three kinds of fermented sausages was good, with high gloss, dark red color (redness values of 8.62–9.85), compact tissue and pH 5.42–5.45. The overall acceptability of the fermented sausage prepared from the meat of three-way crossbred pigs was the highest (5.76), and its higher hardness ((4963.27 ± 484.49) g) and chewiness ((680.33 ± 58.94) g) contributed to better mouthfeel. In addition, the contents of 21 typical flavor substances (n-octanal, n-hexanal, heptanal, (E)-2-octenal, phenylacetaldehyde, hexanoic acid, acetic acid, octanoic acid, valeric acid, 2-methylpropionic acid, diheptyl phthalate, 2-methyl butenoic acid ethyl ester, butyl butanoate, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 2-undecanone, 2-nonanone, 2-heptanone, 1-octen-3-ol, phenyl ethanol, 4-terpineol and (-)-α-pinene) were significantly higher in this sample than in the other two samples, primarily contributing to the stronger clear, fruity, sweet, and cheesy flavors. In summary, the meat of three-way crossbred pigs is a suitable raw meat for processing fermented sausages.