Effects of stewing time (1, 2, and 3 h) on the levels of taste-active and volatile compounds were measured. The flavor characteristics of the stewed yellow-feather chicken meat were assessed with sensory evaluation and electronic nose. Results showed that increasing stewing time significantly decreased the contents of taste components such as free amino acids, 5′-nucleotides, minerals. Inosine 5′-monophosphate and chloride were the major umami-related compounds in stewed meat and decreased significantly during stewing. The taste-active values of the equivalent umami concentration decreased from 283.2 to 38.7 after 3 h of stewing. In contrast, increasing stewing time improved aroma levels. The volatile compounds mainly included pentanal, hexanal, heptanal, octanal, (E)-2-octenal, nonanal, (Z)-4-decenal, decanal, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, 1-pentanol, and 1-octen-3-ol. With increased stewing time, aldehydes significantly decreased (P < 0.05), whereas alcohols significantly increased (P < 0.05). The high-intensity aroma after 2 h of stewing could be attributed to 1-pentanol and 1-octen-3-ol. The aroma scores of the chicken meat were at maximum after stewing for 3 h. The overall flavor characteristics tended to stabilize after 2 h of stewing. In general, stewing improved the aroma but decreased the taste components in the chicken meat, especially within the first 2 h. The data herein not only provides insight into the changes in odor and taste of chicken meat during cooking, but also guidelines for improving the stewing process.ARTICLE HISTORY
This study assessed the influence of stewing (1, 2 or 3 h) on the texture, ultrastructure and in vitro digestibility of meat from the yellow-feathered chicken, which is a popular broiler chicken in Asia. Results indicated that longer stewing considerably increased cooking loss of the chicken carcass and tenderness of thigh meat. After 3 h of stewing, protein digestibility decreased from 90.5% to 80.3% and fiber diameter decreased by 8.63 μm. The shear force value of breast meat decreased from 32.34 N at 1 h to 10.29 N at 2 h, and then increased to 39.98 N at 3 h. The texture profile of breast meat remarkably decreased during stewing. Moreover, increased stewing time induced longitudinal and transversal shrinkage of muscle fibers and the degradation of the myosin heavy chain. These findings suggested that prolonged stewing (3 h) resulted in decreased meat qualities, based on the changes in cooking loss, digestibility and texture profile, but that stewing for 2 h increased thigh and breast tenderness. Producers could utilize this information to stew yellow-feathered chicken meat with desirable qualities.
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