Characterization of the non-volatiles and volatiles in correlation with flavor development of cooked goat meat as affected by different cooking methods

Thai-Native (TN) x Anglo-Nubian (AN) goat meat cooked by grilling (GR), sous vide (SV), and microwave (MW), was compared to fresh meat (Raw) in terms of flavor development. Non-volatile (i.e., free amino acids, nucleotide-related compounds, taste active values (TAVs) and umami equivalency, sugars, lipid oxidation, Maillard reaction products) and volatile compounds, were investigated. Notably, inosine monophosphate (IMP) and Glu/Gln were the major compounds contributing to umami taste, as indicated by the highest TAVs in all samples. Raw had higher TAVs than cooked ones, indicating that heat-cooking removes these desirable flavor and taste compounds. This could be proportionally associated with the increase in aldehyde, ketone, and nitrogen-containing volatiles in all cooked samples. GR showed the highest thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) (1.46 mg malonaldehyde/kg sample) and browning intensity (0.73), indicating the greatest lipid oxidation and Maillard reaction due to the higher temperature among all cooked samples (p<0.05). In contrast, SV and Raw exhibited similar profiles, indicating that low cooking temperatures preserved natural goat meat flavor, particularly the goaty odor. The principal component analysis (PCA) biplot linked volatiles and non-volatiles dominant for each cooked sample to their unique flavor and taste. Therefore, these findings shed light on cooking method selection based on desirable flavor and preferences.