To optimize the cooking process of dry-fried Phaseolus vulgaris L. in a combi-steam oven, and compare the differences in volatile flavor compounds between samples prepared by traditional stir-frying and by the combi-steam oven.

Taking dry-fried Phaseolus vulgaris L. as the research object, the heating temperature, humidity and cooking time of the combi-steam oven were optimized through single-factor and orthogonal experiments.Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to detect the volatile components of products obtained by the 2 kinds of methods, and the relative odor activity value (ROAV) was calculated to identify the key flavor compounds.

The optimal cooking conditions for the combi-steam oven were a heating temperature of 200  ℃, a humidity of 70%, and a cooking time of 8.5  min, under which the product achieved the best sensory quality. A total of 30 volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS, covering 9 chemical classes including esters, aldehydes and olefins.ROAV analysis demonstrated that 2-methylbutanal, isovaleraldehyde and heptanal were the key flavor compounds common to both cooking methods, playing a dominant role in the dry-fried flavor. The ROAV values of styrene, isovaleraldehyde, heptanal and other compounds were higher in the combi-steam oven group, making their contributions to the overall flavor more prominent.

This study establishes standardized combi-steam oven process parameters for dry-fried Phaseolus vulgaris L., reveals the key flavor compounds and the influence of processing methods on their contributions, and provides reliable process parameters and a flavor chemistry foundation for the standardized and digital processing of this dish.