Cooking mode shapes Yuxiang shredded pork flavor signatures: a comparative multi-omics study

Flavor complexity of traditional Sichuan cuisines arises from dynamic physicochemical interactions during cooking, but mechanistic impacts of modern automated systems and artisanal methods remain unclear. Here, E-nose/tongue, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics were integrated to analyze the flavor quality of Yuxiang shredded pork prepared with automatic cooking machine and an induction cooktop and via open-flame cooking. The results revealed 860 volatiles and 1851 non-volatile metabolites: automatic cooking machine increased fruity esters (ethyl hexanoate) and Maillard products (furfural); induction enriched meat-flavor precursor degradation products; open-flame processing amplified spice terpenes (L-α-terpineol) and lipid oxidation aldehydes. Non-volatile analysis linked cooking machine systems to phenolic retention (rosmarinic acid) and open-flame cooking to nucleotide-driven umami (adenosine). These results revealed the relationship among heat transfer efficiency, thermal gradients, and flavor architecture, providing hypotheses for future mechanistic validation. This study provides a framework for optimizing automated technologies while preserving the sensory characteristics.