Determination of the effects of different washing processes on aroma characteristics in silver carp mince by MMSE–GC–MS, e-nose and sensory evaluation

•57 volatile compounds were identified by monolithic material sorptive extraction.•13 volatile compounds were selected as aroma-active compounds (AACs) of fish mince.•Traditional washing methods could wash off or facilitate the release of AACs.•Compared with water, saline/weak alkaline solution washed off more compounds.•Sensory evaluation and e-nose based PCA analysis confirmed the OAV results. The present study investigated the volatile compounds of silver carp mince and the effects of washing processes on the integral aroma characteristics and aroma-active compounds (AACs) of the mince. 57 volatile compounds were identified by monolithic material sorptive extraction (MMSE) and GC–MS analysis, and 13 volatile compounds with odor activity values greater than 1 (OAVs>1) were further selected as AACs contributing primarily to the integral aroma profile of silver carp. Washing methods affected the overall aroma profiles of fish samples by washing away or facilitating the release of AACs but to different extents. Compared with water washing, washing with saline and weak alkaline solution removed more AACs. Washing with water three times (T2) exhibited a relatively stronger removal effect on most AACs compared to washing with water twice (T1). Washing with a high concentration of saline (T4) produced a strong removal effect on AACs. The results of sensory evaluation and electronic nose (e-nose) detection for distinguishing the aroma characteristics of different samples demonstrated good agreement with those obtained by OAV analysis.