Influence of different cooking methods on quality characteristics, nutritional value, and volatile compounds of roasted lamb chops

To compare the impacts of different roasting methods on the quality and nutritional composition of lamb chops, two samples prepared using superheated steam roasting (SSR) and direct roasting (DR) were subjected to evaluate the texture, aroma, lipid oxidation, protein oxidation, fatty acids, amino acids, and volatile compounds. The findings revealed that SSR sample had superior mouth feel scores, while DR sample exhibited elevated intensities of roasted, fatty, and muttony notes, as well as increased springiness and chewiness. Further, compared with SSR sample, DR increased the degree of protein and lipid oxidation by maintaining higher levels of carbonyl content and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and was abundant in fatty acids and amino acids. Through solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 112 volatiles were revealed. A total of 26 aroma-active compounds with high flavor dilution values were perceived by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA) (e.g., butanoic acid, (E,E)2,4-decadienal, benzothiazole, p-cresol). Through orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLSDA) model, 4-methyloctanoic acid and 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine were screened out as the markers for the differences between two samples. The correlation analysis explored the relationships of key aroma-active volatiles, their possible precursors, and their contributions to sensory flavor.