Construction of aroma association network of cooked rice based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and sensory analysis

The aroma of cooked rice is a key factor in the evaluation of taste quality for rice grading, which greatly affects consumer acceptance. Combining the results of instrumental analysis and sensory evaluation to comprehensively analyse the aroma of cooked rice is a new strategy. The aroma characteristics of fifteen cooked rice varieties were analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and descriptive sensory analysis. Based on the aroma descriptors obtained by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) analysis and the odour activity value (OAV) of aroma compounds, the aroma profiles of cooked rice were preliminarily explained by bipartite network and aroma fingerprint. The Pearson correlation coefficients between the OAV results of aroma compounds and sensory data were calculated to construct the aroma association network. The results showed that the aroma attributes of cooked rice were significantly correlated with certain aroma compounds identified by GC–MS, such as aldehydes and heterocycles. The aroma attributes of cooked grain, popcorn, grassy, nutty, and fruity could be well explained by the results of GC–MS analysis. The purpose of the study is to better understand the relationship between aroma characteristics and chemical composition, as well as to provide a theoretical basis for evaluating and predicting the aroma of cooked rice using GC–MS analysis.