Beef flavor: a review from chemistry to consumer

Abstract

This paper briefly reviews research that describes the sensation, generation and consumer acceptance of beef flavor. Humans sense the five basic tastes in their taste buds, and receptors in the nasal and sinus cavities sense aromas. Additionally, trigeminal senses such as metallic and astringent are sensed in the oral and nasal cavities and can have an effect on the flavor of beef. Flavors are generated from a complex interaction of tastes, tactile senses and aromas taken collectively throughout the tongue, nasal, sinus and oral cavities. Cooking beef generates compounds that contribute to these senses and result in beef flavor, and the factors that are involved in the cookery process determine the amount and type of these compounds and therefore the flavor generated. A low-heat, slow cooking method generates primarily lipid degradation products, while high-heat, fast cookery generates more Maillard reaction products. The science of consumer acceptance, cluster analyses and drawing relationships among all flavor determinants is a relatively new discipline in beef flavor. Consumers rate beef that has lipid degradation products generated from a low degree of doneness and Maillard flavor products from fast, hot cookery the highest in overall liking, and current research has shown that strong relationships exist between beef flavor and consumer acceptability, even more so than juiciness or tenderness.

Effects of cottonseed hull levels in the diet and ageing time on visual and sensory meat acceptability from young bulls finished in feedlot

“…Consumers scored acceptability attributes from the three cottonseed hull diets with favourable notes, with values in all cases ranging from 6.7 to 7.2 on a hedonic nine-point scale. According to the results using the same animals, presented by Eiras et al (2016), different levels of cottonseed hulls did not modify fat characteristics (presented the three diets similar fat thickness, percentage of fat on 6th rib dissection, as well as similar fatty acid profile, which could affect flavour perception (Kerth and Miller, 2015). However, the slight differences Based on a hedonic nine-point scale (1 = dislike extremely to 9 = like extremely).…”

Muscle profiling of retail characteristics within the Canadian cull cow grades

“…Higher fat content in meat can result in improved flavour (Killinger et al 2004). In addition, fat content and composition contributes to the species-specific flavour intensity (Kerth and Miller 2015). As such, aside from the muscles from D3 carcasses, the components of flavour associated with higher fat content should be equivalent to, or improved in meat from cows relative to youthful beef.…”

Influence of Electrostatic Field on the Quality Attributes and Volatile Flavor Compounds of Dry-Cured Beef during Chill Storage

“…Ten alcohol-based compounds were identified in the yellow frame, including eucalyptol, 1-octene-3-ol, 1-hexanol, 2-hexanol, 3-methylpentanol, 2-methylbutanol, isobutanol, 1-propanol, 2-propano, and ethanol. Especially, 1-octen-3-ol was a secondary product from aldehydes and would produce mushroom odours [39]. The amount of 1-octen-3-ol in HVEF group on day 3 and in the CON group on day 10 showed a similar brightness.…”