Impact of different cooking methods on the flavor and chemical profile of yellow-fleshed table-stock sweetpotatoes (Ipomoea batatas L.)

• Published in: Food Chemistry: X Vol. 17; p. 100542
• Main Authors: Zhang, Rong, Chen, Haocheng, Chen, Yihang, Tang, Chaochen, Jiang, Bingzhi, Wang, Zhangying
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 30.03.2023; Elsevier
• Subjects: Carotenoids; Metabolites; Sweetness; Volatile compounds; Yellow-fleshed sweetpotato; Carotenoids; Volatile compounds; Metabolites; Yellow-fleshed sweetpotato; Sweetness
• ISSN: 2590-1575; 2590-1575
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100542

•Effect of three cooking methods on taste, flavor and chemical profiles of yellow-fleshed sweetpotato was investigated.•More soluble sugar, more furans and terpenes were enriched, making the baked YFSP the sweetest and most flavorful.•72 VOCs and 706 metabolites were identified in cooked YFSP and broad insight was provided in cooked table-stock sweetpotatoes.•Bioactive substances were preserved maximally in cooked YFSP. This study investigated the impact of baking, boiling, and steaming on the taste, flavor, and chemical profile of yellow-fleshed sweetpotatoes (YFSP). Baked YFSP were sweeter, more palatable, and more flavorful than both steamed and boiled YFSP. Baking increased the YFSP soluble sugar content from 9.12% to 36.65%. Specifically, maltose increased by 200-fold and this possibly accounted for the sweetness of baked YFSP. From the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry analysis, the contents of furans and terpenes increased with baking, endowing baked YFSP with an aroma. On the contrary, boiling retained more carotenoids than the other cooking methods. Although cooking clearly altered YFSP, bioactive substances were predominantly preserved as only 72 out of 706 metabolites were identified as differentially accumulated metabolites between cooked and raw samples. Taken together, baked YFSP had high levels of sugars and volatile compounds, and the three cooking methods had little effect on chemical compounds. This comprehensive evaluation of cooked YFSP is a basis for sweetpotato processing and consumer choice.