Tianhai Liu

True morels (Morchella spp.) are renowned for their aroma and taste, and hot air drying is widely used to extend the shelf life of harvested morels. However, the effects of different drying temperatures on volatile flavor compounds and non-volatile metabolites in the morel are poorly understood. Here, fresh morels (Morchella sextelata) were air-dried at low (45 °C, LT), medium (55 °C, MT), and high temperatures (65 °C, HT). The volatile flavor compounds and non-volatile metabolites were analyzed using GC-IMS and LC-MS/MS, respectively. The GC-IMS revealed that aldehydes, hydrocarbons, and pyrazines increased at greater temperatures, while acids, alcohols, and esters decreased. Random forest machine learning indicated that 1-hexanol and ethyl 3-methylbutanoate were indicative flavor compounds at LTs, while those at MTs and HTs were hexanal and valeraldehyde, respectively. Greater temperatures reduced acetic acid, an unpleasant sour flavor. The LC-MS/MS showed that the relative abundance of amino acids and nucleotides increased with the temperature, with the same trend in 5′-nucleotides and flavor amino acids. Sorbitol 6-phosphate was indicative of the non-volatile metabolites at LTs, while several amino acids were indicative at MTs and HTs. This study revealed the flavor and taste characteristics of morels dried at different temperatures, providing a theoretical reference for establishing a standardized postharvest morel drying process and maintaining morel quality.