The volatile organic compound (VOC) profile of pork cheeks as affected by the
cooking conditions was investigated. Pork cheeks were cooked under different
combinations of temperature (60 °C or 80 °C), time (5 or 12 h) and vacuum (vacuum or
air-packaged). As a general rule, the VOCs originating from lipid degradation were
positively affected by the cooking temperature and negatively by the cooking time,
reaching the highest amounts in pork cheeks cooked at 80 °C during 5 h and the lowest in
samples cooked at 80 °C during 12 h. On the contrary, VOCs originated from amino acids
and Maillard reactions were positively affected by both factors. The proportion between
lipid degradation and amino acids reactions was estimated by the hexanal/3-methylbutanal
ratio, which reached its highest values in samples cooked at 60 °C during 5 h in the
presence of air and the lowest values in samples cooked at 80 °C during 12 h, regardless of
the vacuum status.