Comparison of the effects of four cooking methods on fatty acid profiles and nutritional composition of red mullet (Mullus barbatus) muscle

This study was performed to examine the effects of different cooking methods (frying, steaming, oven cooking, and microwave cooking) on proximate chemical composition, mineral contents, and fatty acids profiles of red mullet (Mullus barbatus) fillets. The frying process caused a significant increase in fat content (from 13.37 +/- 0.04 to 34.44 +/- 0.20 g/100 g d.w.) and reduced the proportion of the palmitic acid of 50.73% and saturated fatty acids of 56.9%. While, the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) increased from 4.04% of total fatty acids for raw fillet to 49.17% of total fatty acids for fried fillets. The steamed, oven-cooked, and microwave-cooked fillets showed the best proportion of fat content, PUFA, and omega-6/omega-3 ratio as compared with fried red mullet fillets. Na, Mg, and Zn contents of cooked fish fillets significantly decreased.