Abstract:Detected the volatile component by using head space-solid phase micro-extraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(SPME-GC-MS) combined with chemometrics methods of Shannon Entropy, correlation coefficient, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) etc. for evaluating, distinguishing and looking for the common flavor between five south stinky tofu brines in China. Results showed that a total of 161 flavor components were detected, with 76, 37, 29, 74 and 35 of them being present in the stinky tofu brine of STB1, STB2, STB3, STB4 and STB5, respectively. The main flavor compounds in five south stinky tofu brines were acids, phenolics and heterocyclics, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, phenol, p-cresol, indole and 3-methylindole. The results inferred that the compounds may be the common flavor component as “stinky”, because of these were higher relative content in five south stinky tofu brines. Based on analysis of chemometrics, the principal component analysis chart can be effectively distinguished between five brands of brine. There some overlapping area between STB3 brine and STB5 brine, which can further infered that the raw material, and the ratio of two brands of brine have big similarity.