Effects of Different Cooking Methods on the Quality and Digestibility of Lipu Taro

To explore the effects of cooking methods on the quality and digestibility of Lipu taro, Lipu taro was used as raw material to cooking by four methods including boiling, steaming, pressure cooking and roasting. Its edible quality, nutritional quality and in vitro digestibility were determined, and the comprehensive scores were evaluated by coefficient of variation method. The results showed that the Lipu taro processed by pressure cooking had the highest sensory score, cohesiveness, gumminess, recoverable deformation, protein, fat, slowly digestible starch (SDS), and comprehensive score, indicating the best overall quality. Steamed taro showed the highest amounts of dietary fiber, total amino acids (TAA), essential amino acids (EAA), non essential amino acid (NEAA), and flavor amino acid, while exhibiting the lowest resistant starch (RS) content. Lipu taro processed by roasting had the highest cooking loss rate, hardness, chewiness, elasticity, total starch, ash, carbohydrates, rapidly digestible starch (RDS), RS, hydrolysis rate (HR), and predicted glycemic index (PGI), but the lowest moisture and SDS content, along with severe browning. Boiled taro had the lowest cooking loss rate, sensory score, texture properties, basic nutritional components, amino acid content, RDS, HR, PGI, and comprehensive score, suggesting substantial nutrient loss. In summary, pressure cooking best preserved the overall quality properties and cooking performance of Lipu taro, followed by steaming, while boiling showed the poorest overall quality.