The effect of cooking approaches on the flavor, nutrition and antioxidant activity of asparagus

After cooking, asparagus develops unique flavor boosting its sensory appeal. This study explored flavor, nutrition, and antioxidant activity in asparagus after deep-frying, stir-frying, steaming, boiling, and air-frying. Gas chromatography ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) was employed to identify the characteristic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the asparagus exposed to different processing methods. The sensory evaluation indicated that deep-frying enhanced the sweety, green, and fruity flavors in the asparagus. Boiling and steaming highlighted green notes, while air-frying accentuated the sweetness, fruity, and sulfury aromas. Deep-frying and air-frying increased the protein (50.8% and 52.3%), vitamin C (14.1% and 39.7%), calcium (82.0% and 103.9%), magnesium (44.5% and 62.0%), and iron (23.7% and 36.8%) levels. Moreover, deep-frying best preserved the antioxidant capacity of the asparagus, followed by steaming. The results help consumers in selecting appropriate cooking methods and provide a theoretical basis for the techniques used to evaluate the flavor and nutritional value of asparagus.