Meat quality Tenderness

Slaughter performance (important for butcher) slaughter yield, balanced carcass weight, composition of carcass Meat quality (important for consumer) measurable or sensory meat quality criteria (appearance, colour, tenderness, juiciness, flavour, roast and boil capacity, biochemical values (e.g. pH-value)), and nutritional value... 

Preparation of cheeses and soy derivatives Solubilization of protein concentrates Production of protein hydrolysates Gluten modification in bread doughs Chillproofing of beer Plastein formation Tenderization of meats Quality determination of proteins... 

The tenderness and flavour of meat can be greatly influenced by the treatment of the animal immediately prior to, and after slaughter, and the conditions under whieh rigor mortis has occurred. The best meat quality seems to be assoeiated with a minimum rate of disappearance of ATP after the death of the animal, and maintenance of pH 5.0-5.5. 

Soy proteins are used extensively in meat and meat products by the military, the school lunch program and consumers to save money. Their ultimate acceptability is equally dependent upon the nutritional, chemical, sensory and shelf life changes which occur when they are added. Soy proteins in meat products such as ground beef inhibit rancidity, improve tenderness, increase moisture retention, decrease cooking shrink, fat dispersion during cooking and have no important effect on microbiological condition. Concomittantly, inordinate amounts of added soy protein may cause the meat product to be too soft, exhibit an undesirable flavor and may lead to a decreased PER and a deficiency in B-vitamins and trace minerals. In emulsified meat products, soy protein effectively binds water but does not emulsify fat as well as salt soluble muscle protein. Prudent incorporation of plant proteins can result in an improvement of the quality of the meat product with inconsequential adverse effects. 

Degradation of proteins by proteases has important implications for the quality of many foods. These include beneficial effects in the development of desirable attributes, such as texture and flavor, e.g. in cheese manufacturing, meat tenderization, beer brewing, soy and fish sauce manufacturing, and production of protein hydrolysates of various origins for different functional or nutritional purposes. The proteases involved may be endogenous to the foods or they may be added for specific pur-... 

Veal is a specialty meat that is produced from young animals that are kept in very close confinement for their entire lives. The highest-quality, epicurean veal is pale-colored and very tender. To achieve this product grade, veal calves are tethered and confined closely so they cannot move very much, and they are fed a diet that is highly deficient in iron, which helps to lighten the color of their flesh. They are also removed from their mothers before they are fully weaned, because a milk diet also promotes the development of a less tender, red-colored flesh. 

The rate at which a carcass is cooled can have a marked effect on the quality of meat. Rapid chilling produces dark and dry meat, which may be tougher, whereas very slow chilling produces more tender meat, but with poorer keeping qualities because of bacterial growth. 

In sensory evaluation consumers estimate fruit firmness on the basis of the deformation resulting from physical pressure applied by the hand and fingers. The toughness or tenderness of meat is subjectively evaluated in terms of the effort required for the teeth to penetrate and masticate the flesh tissues. Therefore, determination of rheological properties of foodstuffs is important in evaluation of consumer-determined quality by correlating rheological measurements with sensory tests. 

Innovation in food requires thorough understanding of the customers involved. Many new products fail [42], because consumers are not fully understood beforehand. Quality perceptions may change over time. Consumers must be able to perceive that products have a number of desirable properties. Before they are willing to buy new products, they must be able to infer these properties from appropriate cues. These cues are pieces of information, which the consumer uses to make an inference about quality. For example, colour and fat content of meat are an indicator of taste and tenderness. Packages may contain information on intrinsic and extrinsic properties of food products. Brands may give information on quality levels, origin, and production standards. 

When consuming whole meat, like steak, roasted beef, and stews, sensory tenderness, toughness, and juiciness are often considered the most important quality attributes. Traditional sensory analysis is both time consuming and sample destructive. Other rheological methods to determine tenderness and toughness are also destructive analysis methods. A noninvasive, nondestructive measurement method is desired by the industry. 

---