Mechanisms of cooking methods on flavor formation of Tibetan pork

To obtain flavor-enriched Tibetan pork products, the impact of oxidation degree on the flavor of Tibetan pork with different cooking methods (microwaving, frying, boiling, and air frying) was evaluated using an E-nose, an E-tongue, GC-MS, and LC-MS. The level of oxidation was lower in M and F and higher in B and AF groups. Hexanal, pentanal, benzaldehyde, 1-octen-3-ol, and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone were identified as significant contributors to cooked samples. The volatile abundance of microwaved, fried, boiled, and air-fried pork was 1.61, 1.22, 1.47, and 1.69 times higher than raw, respectively. Leucine and threonine were detected to be the highest in the AF group, which were 1.30 and 3.60 times greater than RAW, respectively. In summary, oxidation of lipids and proteins caused by cooking treatments was the main source of flavor in cooked Tibetan pork. Air-frying treatment could greatly promote the production of flavor compounds and give unique flavor to Tibetan pork.