The shoulder meat (Boston Butt) used in the experiments was obtained from Middle Yorkshire gilt, weighing 120 Kg. This ground fresh lean pork, 2 Kg, and distilled water, 4 I, were placed in a 10 l distilling flask equipped with a stirrer, heated at 100 °C for 2.5 hours. The distillates and volatiles were collected to 3 traps cooled with water, ice, and dry ice-acetone.
The distillates in the water-cooled trap were adjusted to pH 3 with 2N phosphoric acid and extracted four times with portions of isopentane. The isopentane extracts were dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered off, and isopentane was distilled off at atmsospheric pressure through a Widmer's distilling tube.
The dried isopentane soluble fraction was investigated by gas chromatography on an apparatus equipped with thermal conductivity detector.
The isopentane insoluble fraction was used for chemical studies of carbonyl compounds, alcohols, basic substances, acidic substances, and sulfur compounds.
The compounds which have been identified include ammonia, diacetyl, acetaldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, methyl-n-heptyl ketone, n-nonanal, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, n-butanol, isopentanol, nhexanol, n-octanol, formic acid, propionic acid, isobutyric acid, n-butyric acid, isovaleric acid, n-valeric acid, hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, and ethanethiol.