In the present paper the volatile fraction
of Colonnata bacon, before, during and
after the seasoning process has been characterised.
The analysis of the obtained data
has showed that, during the seasoning, the
aromatic fraction of the product has been
submitted to a deep transformation. Particularly,
a relevant reduction of the volatile
substances present in fresh bacon,
followed by an increase of the compounds
partly due to degradation processes of the
protein and lipidic fractions and partly to
the salting itself, has been observed. Furthermore,
after six months of seasoning,
a high superposition between the volatile
fractions of the bacon and the salting has
been noticed, showing that the major absorption
of the salting occurs after the
fourth month of seasoning. The contemporaneous
control of the combined fatty
acids showed an absence of important fermentative
processes.
