Sensory quality of fresh lamb meat

This work evaluated the texture, aroma and flavour quality of two Spanish commercial lamb categories: milk-fed lambs slaughtered at 10-12 kg live weight, and "ternasco" lambs slaughtered at 20-24 kg live weight from two Spanish breeds, Lacha and Rasa Aragonesa. Texture was only affected by the breed effect in the mealiness parameter, with lamb from the Rasa Aragonesa breed perceived mealier than lamb from the Lacha breed. Texture quality was very influenced by the increase in live weight from 12 to 24 kg. The "ternasco" lamb meat was found harder, mealier, more cohesive and more difficult to swallow than milkfed lamb meat. Increased live weight developed woolly aroma, woolly flavour and more intense aftertaste in cooked lamb meat. Milk-fed lambs produced meat with a more characteristic aroma and flavour than "ternasco" lambs. The increase of live weight from 12 to 24 kg had more influence on the lamb sensory quality than the breed factor, and consequently each commercial category presented its own characteristic texture, aroma and flavour."Qualité sensorielle de la viande fraîche d'agneau". On a étudié la texture, l'odeur et la flaveur de deux categories commerciales d'agneaux en Espagne : l'agneau laiton abattu à 10-12 kg de poids vif et l'agneau tipe "ternasco" abattu à 20-24 kg de poids vif, de deux races espagnoles, Lacha et Rasa Aragonesa. La texture a été affectée par le facteur race sur le paramètre "farineux" ; la viande de la race Rasa Aragonesa a été plus farineuse que la viande de la race Lacha. La texture de la viande a été très influencée par l'augmentation du poids vif. L'agneau de type "ternasco" a été plus dur, farineux, cohésif et difficile à avaler que l'agneau laiton. L'augmentation du poids vif a développé un odeur et une flaveur laineuse, et un arrière-goût plus intense dans la viande cuisinée. La viande de l'agneau laiton a presenté un odeur et une flaveur plus caracteristique que la viande d'agneau de type "ternasco". L'augmentation du poids vif de 12 jusqu'au 24 kg de poids vif a plus d'importance sur la qualité sensorielle de la viande d'agneau que le facteur race. En conséquence, il apparaît que chaque catégorie commerciale a présenté sa propre texture, odeur et flaveur

Instrumental colour measurement as a tool for light veal carcasses online evaluation

Eight-hundred and forty-five veal carcasses (535 males and 310 females) from Pirenaica breed and its crosses with Charolais and Limousin were used to compare carcass colour visual assessments 60min post-mortem with the values obtained using a spectrocolorimeter (CIE Lab colour system) on the pectoralis superficialis muscle. Carcass weights ranged between 240 and 360 kg. Visual colour was subjectively evaluated by two trained assessors. The best correlation between visual appraisal and L* was observed in carcasses of 300-320 kg. A relatively strong correlation between visual appraisal and a* values was observed in carcasses of 280-300 kg of weight. However, the correlation between b* and visual appraisal was low. Using discriminant functions that included L* and a*, the spectrocolorimeter classified correctly 60% of carcasses in the class colour assigned by the assessors. In fact, 99% of male and 96% of female carcasses were correctly assigned in the most common colour of veal carcasses in the Spanish market (»pink«, 5). These results indicate that online instrumental colour measurements on pectoralis superficialis muscle could be recommended to objectively evaluate carcass colour of commercial veal for the Spanish market

Raw-cured Spanish traditional meat product 'Chistorra de Navarra': sensory and composition quality standards

The aim of this work was to set the quality standards of the chistorra de Navarra, a raw-cured Spanish traditional meat product, through the study of its sensory and physicochemical features. The quality of chistorra samples, coming from 50 different artisan producers, were assessed during three sessions by expert assessors (n = 15). In the first session, instrumental colour (L*a*and b*) and appearance and odour parameters were evaluated in the raw products. In the second session, texture and flavour attributes were determined in cooked products. Finally, in the third session, the best 10 classified chistorras from the first and second sessions were sensorially evaluated and sampled for further analysis: texture (Warner Bratzler and texture profile analysis (TPA)), chemical composition, and fatty acid profile. The chistorras with the highest sensory scores had high shear force values, flavour intensity, and fat/hydroxyproline ratio. The average fatty acid profile obtained for chistorra de Navarra was: 42% saturated fatty acids (SFA), 45% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), and 13% polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which was similar to the one found in other raw-cured sausages. Considering the sensory evaluation, chistorra was defined as a product with an intense orange colour, and with high resistance value in the initial bite. It was also characterised by a high juiciness and tenderness, aroma, and meat flavour. In mouth, the pork fat, one of the ingredients of chistorra, was balanced without any of the ingredients dominating. Chemically, the chistorra was characterised by a fat content close to 67% (dry matter), low hydroxyproline occurrence (≤0.6), and protein amount ranging 18 38%