Correlation between physicochemical properties and volatile compound profiles in tilapia muscles subjected to four different thermal processing techniques

• Tilapia muscles were treated with four types of thermal processing methods. • Texture was related with water state, water content, microstructure, and mass loss. • Thermal processing had similar odor fingerprint effects to the mass or water loss. • Thermal processed muscles had different relatively important volatile compounds. This work studied the physicochemical properties and odor profiles of tilapia muscles after exposure to four types of thermal processing methods: microwaving, roasting, boiling, or steaming. The effect of thermal processing on textural properties followed a pH–water state–water content–tissue microstructure–mass loss–textural properties route, expressed in the following manner: microwaving > roasting > steaming ≈ boiling. After processing, muscle pH increased from 6.59 ± 0.10 to 6.73 ± 0.04–7.01 ± 0.06, and hardness changed from 1468.49 ± 180.77 g to 452.76 ± 46.94–10723.66 ± 2898.46 g. Gas chromatography-based E-nose analysis confirmed that these methods had significant odor fingerprint effects on the tilapia muscles. Finally, the combined analysis of headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, statistical MetaboAnalyst, and odor activity value showed that the microwaved, roasted, steamed, and boiled tilapia muscles had, respectively, three (hexanal, nonanal, and decanal), four (2-methyl-butanal, 3-methyl-butanal, decanal, and trimethylamine), one (2-methyl-butanal), and one (decanal) relatively important volatile compounds.