Effects of different cooking methods on physicochemical, textural properties of yak meat and its changes with intramuscular connective tissue during in vitro digestion

The effects of vacuum cooking (VC), traditional cooking (TC), and high-pressure cooking (HPC) on the physicochemical properties and texture of yak meat and the digestibility of yak meat and intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT) were investigated. Compared with VC treatment, TC and HPC treatment significantly increased meat cooking loss and meat hardness (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the carbonyl content of yak meat of TC and HPC was 3.73 nmol/mg protein, and the free sulfhydryl content was 7.93 nmol/mg protein, indicating that more protein was oxidized at higher temperatures. Oxidative aggregation of proteins caused by cooking reduced meat digestibility by about 25%. However, cooking reduced the undigested residue of IMCT and promoted its digestion. Principal component analysis showed that the physicochemical, texture, oxidation, and protein digestibility of TC and HPC meat were similar but significantly different from VC meat.