Objective To explore the effects of cooking methods on the differences in characteristic volatile compounds of Huchen potato, a nationally recognized geographical indication agricultural product.Methods Taking Huchen potato as the research subject, gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) combined with fingerprint analysis technology was used to explore the impact of four cooking methods on its volatile flavor substances.Results The volatile flavor substances of Huchen potato are mainly alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones. The four cooking methods caused significant differences in their characteristic volatile flavor components. Alcohol content ranked as steaming > pan-frying > roasting > deep-frying; aldehyde content ranked as pan-frying > deep-frying > roasting > steaming; ketone content ranked as roasting > steaming > deep-frying > pan-frying. Fingerprint analysis showed that compared with the other three cooking methods, pan-frying significantly enhanced the fruity aroma of Huchen potato.Conclusion GC-IMS combined with fingerprint analysis technology can effectively distinguish the differences in volatile flavor components of potatoes prepared by different cooking methods.