Lawrie´s Meat Science (Eight Edition)
Chapter 14 - The Eating Quality of Meat—IV Water-Holding Capacity and Juiciness
Abstract
Water-holding capacity (WHC) of meat and meat products determines the visual acceptability, weight loss, and cook yield as well as sensory traits on consumption. WHC is defined, and the muscle structure and protein influences on WHC of raw and cooked muscle are described. The influence of postmortem pH fall; pale, soft, and exudative; and dark, firm, and dry; aging; electrical stimulation; vacuum packing; freezing; and thawing on WHC are explained. The changes in structure as a result of cooking and also processing are presented as well as the influence of high-pressure processing, salting pre- and postrigor, ionic strength, phosphates, and marination. Finally, methods for measuring WHC are defined, and a summary and conclusions are given.
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Number of denatured rigor cross-bridges determines the intracellular volume shrinkage in porcine muscle fibre under PSE-inducing condition
2024, Meat ScienceEarlier onset of rigor mortis is a critical physiological progress occurring in the development of pale soft and exudative (PSE) meat. However, how rigor cross-bridges denature under different physiological conditions and their impacts on water-holding capacity remains unclear. To address this scientific question, we firstly established a method to quantify the extent of rigor cross-bridge denaturation using skinned fibres prepared from porcine longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle. Effects of pH and temperature on the kinetics of rigor cross-bridge denaturation, actomyosin denaturation and shrinkage of muscle fibre were studied. We then manipulated the number of rigor cross-bridges before the denaturation condition was initiated (pH 5.5, 38 °C). Results suggested that the loss of water-holding capacity in PSE meat is determined by the number of denatured rigor cross-bridges. Physiochemical analysis on myofibrils demonstrated that increase in protein oxidation, surface hydrophobicity and loss of electrostatic repulsive force between myofibrils may be involved in the mechanism.
Effect of wet-aging on meat quality and exudate metabolome changes in different beef muscles
2024, Food Research InternationalThe aim of this study was to evaluate meat quality and changes in the meat exudate metabolome of different beef muscles (5 d postmortem, longissimus lumborum and psoas major muscles) during wet-aging (additional 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 d of aging). Shear force of meat declined significantly (P < 0.001) with aging, meanwhile, increased myofibril fragmentation index, lipid and protein oxidation with aging were observed (P < 0.01). Psoas major (PM) showed significantly higher (P < 0.05) purge loss, centrifugal loss, and cooking loss, as well as higher tenderness and more severe lipid and protein oxidation (P < 0.01) than longissimus lumborum (LL) during aging. Principal component analysis of the metabolomic profiles revealed distinct clusters according to the period of aging and the type of muscle simultaneously. Overabundant amino acids, peptides, oxidized fatty acids, and hydroxy fatty acids were found in long-term aged meat exudates, and forty metabolites were significantly correlated with meat quality characteristics. Fifty-nine metabolites were significantly affected by muscle type. These results demonstrated the potential possibility of evaluating meat quality using meat exudate metabolomics.
The influence of different concentrations of NaCl (2.5% and 1.75%), basic electrolyzed water (BEW), and ultrasound (US, 25 kHz, 159 W) on the quality of fresh sausages was studied. During storage at 5 °C, TBARS, pH, Eh, aw, nitrous pigments, and bacterial evolution were evaluated at three specific time intervals: 1d, 15d, and 30d. At the same time, the volatile compounds and sensory profile were specifically assessed on both the 1d and 30d. Notably, sausages with 1.75% NaCl and BEW displayed higher pH values (up to 6.30) and nitrous pigment formation, alongside reduced Eh (as low as 40.55 mV) and TBARS values (ranging from 0.016 to 0.134 mg MDA/kg sample), compared to the 2.5% NaCl variants. Protein content ranged between 13.01% and 13.75%, while lipid content was between 18.23% and 18.86%, consistent across all treatments. Psychrotrophic lactic bacteria showed a significant increase in low-NaCl sausages, ranging from 5.77 to 7.59 log CFU/g, indicative of potential preservative benefits. The sensory analysis favored the TUSBEW70 treatment for its salty flavor on the 30th day, reflecting a positive sensory acceptance. The study highlights that employing US and BEW in sausage preparation with reduced NaCl content (1.75%) maintains quality comparable to higher salt (2.5%) counterparts. These findings are crucial for meat processing, presenting a viable approach to producing healthier sausages with reduced sodium content without compromising quality, aligning with consumer health preferences and industry standards.
Reducing water activity and softening texture of Areca catechu L. by phosphates and Maillard peptides and their improvement on flavor
2024, Food BioscienceMany studies have focused on reducing Aw to prevent the growth of spoilage bacteria. The effects of complex phosphates (CP) and Maillard peptide complexes (MPCs) on water activity (Aw), water status, sensory attributes, flavor, and hardness of the areca nuts were studied to extend their shelf life and improve their eating quality. The results showed that the addition of 1.6% CP and 0.6% MPCs significantly reduced the Aw of areca nuts (Aw = 0.8116). Low field nuclear magnetic resonance indicated that it was due to that the CP and MPCs promoted the conversion of free water to bound water through hydrogen bonding or electrostatic interaction. In addition, CP combined with MPCs reduced the extrusion hardness and puncture hardness of areca nuts, accompanied with a significant increase in softness and pulpiness as assessed through sensory analysis, which might be due to the improved water binding capacity of areca nuts. Moreover, MPCs increased the content of N, S heterocyclic compounds of the areca nuts and contributed to an increased “kokumi” attribute compared with CP.
Exploring relationships between juiciness perception, food and bolus properties of plant-based meat analogue and beef patties
2024, Food HydrocolloidsPlant-based meat analogues (PBMAs) often lack sensory juiciness, limiting their consumer appeal. This study aimed to better understand juiciness and texture perception of plant-based meat analogue and beef patties by linking food and bolus properties to sensory properties. Commercially available PBMA and beef patties were cooked to four core temperatures (60, 70, 80, 90 °C). Juiciness intensity decreased significantly and strongly with increasing core temperature (rank-rating test), so that series of patties covering a broad range of juiciness were obtained from the same raw materials. Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA) profiling revealed that with increasing juiciness intensity PBMA patties were perceived less dry and fattier, whereas beef patties were perceived less dry, less hard, less chewy, and fattier and more tender. Juiciness intensity correlated strongly with the properties and composition of the samples. Juiciness intensity of PBMA and beef patties were correlated negatively with cooking loss and positively with serum release under compression. Serum release under compression determined instrumentally correlated strongly and positively with serum release determined in vivo during mastication. For the PBMA patties, juiciness perception was high when the patties contained more fat, while for the beef patties, juiciness perception was high when the patties contained more water. For both PBMA and beef patties varying largely in juiciness intensity, differences in food and sensory properties did not lead to significantly large differences in oral processing behavior and bolus properties at the moment of swallowing. Due to these limited variations in bolus properties, also no meaningful relationships between bolus properties at the moment of swallowing and sensory properties could be determined. We conclude that juiciness perception of plant-based meat analogue and beef patties is primarily determined by the release of serum during mastication, and is related to the sample properties rather than bolus properties at the moment of swallowing.
The role of texture in the palatability and food oral processing
2024, Food Hydrocolloids