The flavor quality of dried Lentinus edodes with different species and drying methods (charcoal roasting and naturally drying)

Different species and processing methods have different impacts on the flavor quality of dried Lentinus edodes. To investigate the effect of species (four species of Qingyuan: 241-4, Qingke 20, Qingke 212, and Qingke 135) and drying method (slow charcoal roasting and natural drying) on dried L. edodes, the present study quantitatively analyzed the volatile compounds, particularly lenthionine, 1-octen-3-ol, and cyclic sulfur compounds, and compared 10 L. edodes varieties using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). A total of 136 volatiles from the 10 L. edodes varieties were quantitatively identified. 1-Octen-3-ol, lenthionine, and associated dispersion products, including dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl trithioether, and dimethyl tetrathioether, were selected as L. edodes flavor indexes. In addition, the electronic tongue results were consistent with the results of the sensory evaluation. The flavor quality of the dried L. edodes could be objectively evaluated by GC–MS and the electronic tongue for 1-octen-3-ol and lenthionine, their dispersion products, and the umami taste. The results showed that the flavor quality of L. edodes after a long period of charcoal roasting was improved. Although the quantity of volatile substances was reduced during charcoal roasting, the variety of volatiles was increased and the umami was improved.