The volatile aroma compounds of pressure-cooked hen meat isolated by simultaneous distillation-extraction and extraction-high vacuum distillation were investigated by GC/MS and GC-olfactometry, We found out that 2-furfuryl thiol, 3-(methylthio)propanal, 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, 2-methyl-3-furanthiol and 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethyl pyrazine are the most potent odourants of the pressure-cooked hen meat. We assume that aroma-active compounds such as 2,4,6-trimethyltetrahydro-1,3,5-thiadiazine, 3,5-dimethyl-1 ,2,4-trithiolane, 5,6-dihydro-2,4,6-trimethyl-4H-1,3,5-dithiazine and some unknown compounds, which could only be found in extracts obtained by simultaneous distillation-extraction, are artefacts formed during this isolation process. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.