Analysis of the effect of steaming times on lipid composition of pork belly based on lipidomics technology

Herein, we used ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC)-mass spectrometry (MS)/MS quantitative lipidomics to determine the effects of different steaming times on the lipid composition of pork belly fatty layer. We identified 884 lipid species that belonged to 35 different classes. Compared with raw fat, 26 and 99 lipid molecules were significantly different (fold change ≥2 or ≤0.5, variable importance in project >1) after steaming at 100 °C for 30 min and 180 min, respectively. Among these lipids, phospholipids are important variables involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism and phosphoinositide metabolism. Lipolysis regulation in adipocytes and glycerolipid metabolism in raw fat after steaming for 180 min is a crucial metabolic pathway, which leads to the presence of 290 triglycerides lipid molecules in the spilled oil. This study provides insights into the lipid change mechanisms of pork belly during different steaming times, which causes a fat-rich and non-greasy taste after a long steaming time.