Analysis of the Umami and Aroma of Chicken Soup Made from Different Raw Materials and Comparison with Commercial Chicken Soups

With the aim of exploring the correlation between instrumental analysis and sensory evaluation of chicken soup umami-aroma characteristics, 110-day-old Xue Shan hens and 60-day-old 817 broilers were used as raw materials to prepare chicken soup, and four commercially available chicken soup products (C, G, T and W) were also selected to make analysis. The above six samples were tested with free amino acids, nucleotides, electronic tongue, electronic nose, free fatty acids, volatile substances, fuzzy sensory evaluation. Then partial least squares regression was used to explore the correlation between sensory evaluation and instrument analysis indexes. The results showed that the chicken soup of 817 broilers (S60) and Xue Shan hens (S110) was significantly lower in fresh amino acids, umami, and saltiness response values than the other four chicken soups (P<0.05). The S110 chicken soup was significantly higher in essential amino acids, total fatty acids content (72.600 mg/mL), and unsaturated fatty acids than the other five chicken soups (P<0.05). So, S110 chicken soup had the excellent aroma grade during sensory evaluation. However, the lack of umami and strong greasiness lowered the total sensory score of S110 sample. Wu Tai Po product (W) chicken soup had significantly higher levels of glutamic acid, fresh amino acid, umami, and saltiness response values than the other five chicken soups (P<0.05) and moderate total fatty acids content (52.200 mg/mL). Satisfied umami and aroma contributed to the highest overall sensory score of W chicken soup among all samples. As to Shen soup product (C), Tang Xiao Guan product (G) and Tang Xiao Tiao product (T) chicken soups, lower total fat and less umami resulted in their lower sensory scores among all samples. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) and Pearson correlation analysis showed highly significant positive correlation (P<0.01) among three types of indicators, including liking and taste of sensory evaluation, saltiness and umami response values of electronic tongue testing, glutamic acid and total fresh amino acids of free amino acids testing. There were highly significant positive correlation (P<0.01) between the indicators of aroma as well as floating oil and total fatty acids, unsaturated fatty acids as well as saturated fatty acids. In summary, ensuring moderate fat content can improve the overall sensory score by balancing umami and aroma. This study provides a reference for the research and regulation of chicken soup flavor, raw and auxiliary ingredients selecting and the personalized customization of chicken soup products.