Effect of Cooking Methods on the Quality Characteristics of Larger Yellow Croaker

In order to explore the influence of traditional cooking methods on the quality of large yellow croaker, fresh large yellow croaker served as the research material. Various analytical techniques, including sensory evaluation, texture analysis, total volatile basic nitrogen measurement, electronic nose, electronic tongue, gas chromatography-ion mobility spectroscopy (GC-IMS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and electrophoresis, were employed to analyze the mouthfeel and protein characteristics of large yellow croaker under different cooking methods (boiling, steaming, frying and microwave). The sensory score of the boiling group was the lowest among the different groups and no significant difference was found in the steaming, frying and microwave groups (P>0.05). The hardness, chewiness, and gumminess of the cooked large yellow croaker decreased. However, the highest hardness and chewiness were exhibited by the fried croaker among all groups. Better taste was observed in the microwave and steaming groups. Through electronic nose and GC-IMS analysis of large yellow croaker odor, 56 volatiles were identified, with the highest number of volatiles being found in the microwave group among different groups. The relative content of hexanal, 1,3-butanediol, 1-butanol, and acetic acid increased, while the relative content of pentanal, 2-methylbutanal, isoamyl alcohol, 2-octanol, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone and methyl acetate decreased. The richness, saltiness and sweetness of fish increased after cooking, and the richness and umami of fish in the frying group were higher than those in the boiling group. Compared with the uncooked fish, the relative content of β-sheet increased, while those of β-turn and α-helix decreased in the boiled, steamed and microwave groups. In contrast, the fried group showed an increase in β-turns and a decrease in random coil content. Electrophoretic results showed that after adding β-mercaptoethanol, the band intensity of MHC and Actin of fried and microwave-treated fish meat was igher than that in the boiled and steamed groups. The above results show that microwave and frying are suitable for processing large yellow croaker. This study can provide a theoretical reference for the processing and utilization of large yellow croaker.