This paper aimed to study the time course changes in taste compounds of Dezhou-braised chicken during the entire cooking process mainly consisting of deep-frying, high-temperature boiling, and low-temperature braising steps. For this purpose, meat samples at different processing stages were analyzed for 5'-nucleotides and free amino acids, and were also subjected to electronic tongue measurements. Results showed that IMP, Glu, Lys, and sodium chloride were the main compounds contributing to the taste attributes of the final product. IMP and Glu increased in the boiling step and remained unchanged in the following braising steps. Meanwhile, decrease in Lys content and increase in sodium chloride content were observed over time in both boiling and braising steps. Intensities for bitterness, saltiness, and Aftertaste-B obtained from the electronic tongue analysis were correlated with the concentrations of these above chemical compounds. Therefore, the electronic tongue system could be applied to evaluate the taste development of Dezhou-braised chicken during processing.

Mastication is the first step of food digestion, where foods are broken down and simultaneously impregnated by saliva resulting in the formation of semi-fluids known as food boluses. This review focuses on the impact of oral processing on texture attributes and taste perception. The article describes the oral actions in which texture characteristic are measured for the critical conditions that trigger swallowing. Taste perception also plays a key role in oral processing and oral sensations. There are still challenges in terms of determining different oral physiological characteristics. These include individual chewing behavior regardless of the temporal aspects of dominant processes of comminution, insalivation, bolus formation and swallowing. A comprehensive approach is essential to process favorable foods with respect to the food properties of texture and taste.

The challenges of food adulteration such as illegal production of water-injected meat remain serious in many areas of the world. This study investigated the feasibility of using LF-NMR and MRI to identify water-injected pork. Longissimus dorsi muscles were injected with 0 %, 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 % and 25 % content of deionized water, respectively. The CPMG decay curves of water-injected pork decayed slower than that of the normal. The peak area proportion of immobilized water of water-injected pork decreased while relaxation time and peak area proportion of free water increased significantly (p < 0.05). The first two principal components (PCs) of PCA accounted for 54.54 % and 32.06 % of the observed variance, respectively. Based on the two PCs, the water-injected pork could be differentiated from the normal. Furthermore, the accumulation location of the injected-water in pork could be visualized by MRI. Therefore, LF-NMR combined with MRI offers an effective method for the detection of water-injected pork.

This study investigated the effects of hydrocolloid injection on the eating quality of porcine meat based on low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR). The eating quality and water distribution of hydrocolloid-injected pork were compared with control, and the principle component analysis (PCA) was applied for the identification of hydrocolloid-injected pork. Total color difference (ΔE∗), cooking loss, and moisture content of hydrocolloid-injected pork were significantly increased compared with the control (p<0.05). LF-NMR indicated that significant differences in the relaxation time and peak area proportion of immobilized water (T21, P21) and free water (T22, P22) were detected among hydrocolloid-injected samples and the control (p<0.05). The first two principal components (PCs) of PCA accounted for 54.07% and 33.56% of the observed variation, respectively. Based on the two PCs, the hydrocolloid-injected pork could be differentiated from the control. Therefore, LF-NMR combined with PCA offers an effective method for the analysis and detection of hydrocolloid-injected pork.