The effect of microwave drying on the taste compounds in anchovy was investigated. The characteristic taste compounds of dried anchovy were identified by analysis of free amino acids, nucleotides, organic acids and electronic tongue analysis. The results showed that the overall flavor of anchovy dried in a microwave oven for 4 (MD4), 6 (MD6) and 8 min (MD8) increased compared to the undried control group. The total free amino acid contents of the undried, MD4, MD6 and MD8 samples were 820.28, 908.33, 985.98, and 858.72 mg/100 g, respectively, and the contents of umami and sweet amino acids of the MD4, MD6 and MD8 samples ranged from 77.49 to 79.64 mg/100 g and from 337.23 to 384.09 mg/100 g, respectively. The content of organic acids increased by 4.98–14.09 times with the increase in drying time. There was a high correlation between organic acids and sweet and salty taste. In conclusion, microwave drying increased the content of characteristic flavor compounds, contributing to the overall taste profile of dried anchovy.

This study focused on the effect of tea polyphenols on the quality changes of low-salt grass carp cured products during refrigeration. The addition of tea polyphenols could be found to improve the color and texture of the cured grass carp products during the refrigeration process. The bacterial colonies (TVC) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) content showed that the conditioned grass carp fillets had a high level of food safety. The thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARs) value of grass carp continued to rise with increasing refrigeration time, indicating that fat oxidation occurred in the grass carp cured products. The addition of tea polyphenols was found to inhibit protein oxidation and protect the protein structure of the low-salt conditioned grass carp fillets during refrigeration, as indicated by the indicators related to protein oxidation. This finding provides a new theoretical idea for grass carp processing and storage.