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Peer-reviewedCC BYnpj Science of Food

Unraveling material characteristics of different pork belly cuts from raw to dish: a comparative study of texture and flavor

  • Mi Tang1
  • Yong Yu1
  • Weijie Hu2
  • Hankun Zhu1
  • Liang Ma1
  • Kangting Sun1
  • Xin Feng3
  • Jinyong Wang4
  • Xiaoqian Wu1
  • Yuhao Zhang1
4 affiliations
  1. 1College of Food Science, Southwest University
  2. 2Chongqing Grain and Oil Quality Supervision and Inspection Station
  3. 3Chongqing Academy of Agricultural Sciences
  4. 4Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences
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Abstract

Pork belly is widely favored for its alternating fat-lean layers, yet the raw material characteristics of different cuts—upper (UPB), middle (MPB), lower (LPB), and second-knife meat (SKM)—remain unclear. This study selected twice-cooked pork belly (TPB) as the model dish to systematically compare the texture, collagen, microstructure, and flavor of four cuts from raw to cooked stages. Texture analysis showed that the skin layer was mainly related to collagen, while the fat layer was influenced not only by collagen content and composition but also by the extracellular matrix network, as revealed by Masson staining. Lean meat texture was primarily determined by its proportion, resulting in 57.55 ~ 124.45% higher chewiness in SKM. Flavor and precursor analysis revealed that UPB was characterized by higher proline and C20:4n6 and was associated with higher relative abundance of sweet/citrus aldehydes. MPB generated fatty aroma linked to C18:1n9c. LPB delivered complex meaty/roasted flavors from C18:1n9c, C18:2n6c, and Phe. SKM exhibited a flavor profile dominated by 2,3-butanedione due to its high branched-chain amino acid content. Furthermore, biplot analysis elucidated the relationships between raw material characteristics and final quality attributes, providing a theoretical basis for selecting the pork belly cuts in industrial production.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{tang2026unraveling,
  title = {{Unraveling material characteristics of different pork belly cuts from raw to dish: a comparative study of texture and flavor}},
  author = {Mi Tang and Yong Yu and Weijie Hu and Hankun Zhu and Liang Ma and Kangting Sun and Xin Feng and Jinyong Wang and Xiaoqian Wu and Yuhao Zhang},
  journal = {npj Science of Food},
  year = {2026},
  month = jun,
  doi = {10.1038/s41538-026-00967-5},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00967-5},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Unraveling material characteristics of different pork belly cuts from raw to dish: a comparative study of texture and flavor
AU  - Mi Tang
AU  - Yong Yu
AU  - Weijie Hu
AU  - Hankun Zhu
AU  - Liang Ma
AU  - Kangting Sun
AU  - Xin Feng
AU  - Jinyong Wang
AU  - Xiaoqian Wu
AU  - Yuhao Zhang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/01
JO  - npj Science of Food
DO  - 10.1038/s41538-026-00967-5
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00967-5
AB  - Pork belly is widely favored for its alternating fat-lean layers, yet the raw material characteristics of different cuts—upper (UPB), middle (MPB), lower (LPB), and second-knife meat (SKM)—remain unclear. This study selected twice-cooked pork belly (TPB) as the model dish to systematically compare the texture, collagen, microstructure, and flavor of four cuts from raw to cooked stages. Texture analysis showed that the skin layer was mainly related to collagen, while the fat layer was influenced not only by collagen content and composition but also by the extracellular matrix network, as revealed by Masson staining. Lean meat texture was primarily determined by its proportion, resulting in 57.55 ~ 124.45% higher chewiness in SKM. Flavor and precursor analysis revealed that UPB was characterized by higher proline and C20:4n6 and was associated with higher relative abundance of sweet/citrus aldehydes. MPB generated fatty aroma linked to C18:1n9c. LPB delivered complex meaty/roasted flavors from C18:1n9c, C18:2n6c, and Phe. SKM exhibited a flavor profile dominated by 2,3-butanedione due to its high branched-chain amino acid content. Furthermore, biplot analysis elucidated the relationships between raw material characteristics and final quality attributes, providing a theoretical basis for selecting the pork belly cuts in industrial production.
SN  - 2396-8370
ER  -