Effects of different cooking treatments on the sensory qualities and pigmented phytochemicals of carrots

Effects of different cooking treatments including steaming (S), boiling (B), stir-frying (SF) and frying (F) on the sensory qualities and pigmented phytochemicals of "Guanghong" carrot were studied based on intelligent sensory technology and targeted metabolomics, with fresh carrot slices (R) as control. Results showed cooking treatments reduced the brightness, redness, yellowness, and color saturation, and h° was the core index reflecting consumers' preference for the color characteristics of cooked carrots. The overall acceptability of cooked carrots was higher than R, and S gave carrots the best taste. (E/Z)-phytoene, α-carotene and β-carotene were the most dominant carotenoids monomers. None of the four cooking methods resulted in a loss of total monomer carotenoids content (TMCC) in carrots. B and SF increased the contents of xanthophyll and carotene, respectively, while the carotenoid esters's content remained stable during cooking. SF significantly increased TMCC and the contents of γ-carotene, α-carotene and (E/Z)-phytoene (p < 0.05). Pel-3-O-glu was the most important anthocyanins monomer in "Guanghong" carrot.