Effect of drying methods on the volatile compounds of Turkish pastirma

In standard pastirma production, the drying phase is the longest and most uncontrollable step. This study investigated infrared (IR) and climate-controlled chamber (CC) drying as alternatives to open-air (OA) drying to reduce processing time and evaluate effects on volatile profiles. Pastirma from two muscle types (loin and round) was analysed by HS-SPME-GC/MS, yielding 183 compounds across ten chemical classes. OA and IR drying produced significantly higher aldehyde fractions than CC drying (p < 0.001), with hexanal as the predominant lipid oxidation marker. Limonene from cemen paste was detected in all samples. PCA identified drying method as the primary driver of volatile variation; muscle type had no significant effect (p > 0.05). IR drying achieved comparable volatile profiles to OA drying in less time, while CC drying minimized oxidation-derived off-flavours, enabling product standardization.