Two independent approaches, gas chromatography-olfactometry and sensory analysis, were usedto evaluate and compare the aroma characteristics of pine-mushrooms (
Tricholoma matsutake Sing.)of four different grades. The aroma-active compounds responsible for the sensory attributes of pine-mushrooms were investigated based on the correlation between instrumental and sensory analysesthrough partial least-square regression. Piny, meaty, and floral attributes were strongly correlatedwith each other and were the most important descriptors for defining the pine-mushrooms of thehighest grade, and they decreased as the grade decreased. Among 23 aroma-active compounds,(
E)-2-decenal,
-terpineol, phenylethyl alcohol, and 2-methylbutanoic acid ethyl ester contributedmost to these attributes. On the other hand, the major aroma characteristics of the pine-mushroomsof the lowest grade were wet soil-like, alcohol, metallic, moldy, and fermented, and they decreasedas the grade increased. These aroma characteristics were strongly associated with 1-octen-3-one,1-octen-3-ol, 3-octanol, 3-octanone, (
E)-2-octen-1-ol, and methional.