Abstract:

Pork is a common source of animal fatty acids for humans. The changes in fatty acid composition, especially thechanges in the ratio of saturated fatty acids (S) to monounsaturated fatty acids (M) to polyunsaturated fatty acids (P) duringpork cooking process can significantly influence human health. The aim of our present study was to explore the optimalcooking time for achieving the best fatty acid proportion. Pork fat back, loin pork and fat bacon were separately cooked inwater for different periods of time. Compositions of fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography. Results showed that agood cooking time for fat back pork was 4 hours when the ratio of S: M: P was 3.6: 4.9: 1.0, and the amounts of linoleic andlinolenic reached the highest point. For loin pork, the optimal cooking time was 1 hour and the S: M: P ratio was 2.5:2.6:1.0.The best cooking time for fat bacon was 2 hours and the S: M: P ratio was 1.7: 2.9: 1.0.

Key words: fatty acid, gas chromatography, pork