Abstract:To optimize the stewing process for Dagu chicken soup, the effects of four heating methods—rapid boiling over high heat, moderate simmering over medium heat, slow stewing over low heat, and gentle simmering over minimal heat—were systematically evaluated with respect to the nutritional composition and microstructure. Key nutritional components, including crude protein, crude fat, soluble protein, oligopeptides, and purines, were determined. These analytical measurements were integrated with microstructural observations conducted using confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and were further complemented by a comprehensive sensory evaluation. The results indicated that soup prepared with slow stewing over low heat contained the highest levels of crude protein (1.52 g/100 g), oligopeptides (1.57 mg·mL-1), hypoxanthine (29.31 mg·mL-1), adenine (20.40 mg·mL-1), and xanthine (8.58 mg·mL-1). A significantly higher crude fat content (1.48 wt.%) was found in the group subjected to gentle simmering over minimal heat. However, superior overall quality was demonstrated by the process of moderate simmering over medium heat. This method was found to yield the highest contents of total sugars (0.05 mg/100 g) and soluble protein (7.68 mg·mL-1), and was also associated with relatively lower purine content and the lowest degree of lipid oxidation (TBARS value: 0.039 mg MDA·kg-1). Microscopic analysis revealed that the fat particles in the soup prepared by moderate simmering over medium heat were fine, uniformly distributed, and formed a stable system. The superiority of this process was further confirmed by sensory evaluation, where it received the highest scores for taste and morphology. Based on these findings, moderate simmering over medium heat is established as the recommended process for producing high-quality Dagu chicken soup, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for its industrial-scale production.