Abstract
Dry cured meat—‘cecina’—is a traditional, although not well-known, dry product that could add value to cull ewes. Because of this, the aim of the study was to assess consumer acceptability of ‘cecina’ from cull ewes finished with different levels of linseed (5, 10 or 15%) for different periods before slaughtering (30, 50 or 70 days). One hundred and fifty consumers evaluated colour acceptability, fatness and odour, flavour and overall acceptability of ‘cecina’ from those 9 treatments. Additionally, habits of consumption of cured products and preferences for different species and willingness to pay for ‘cecina’ were investigated. Linseed supplementation was identified as the most important factor for sensorial attributes (p < 0.01), with the preferred ‘cecina’ being that with 5% and 10% supplementation. Feeding duration only modified the fatness acceptability (p < 0.01). ‘Cecina’ from small ruminants is a product consumed occasionally by the majority of participants; however, it presented an adequate overall acceptability. Consequently, elaborating ‘cecina’ would be a feasible strategy to improve the income of farmers.
Highlights
A 3 × 3 factorial design was tested, which comprised 3 different percentages of Linum usitatissimum, which was supplied as whole seeds on the concentrate diet: 5%, 10% or 15%
According to the findings from the current study, ‘cecina’ from cull ewes presented an adequate acceptability for local consumers
Low levels of fat are usually preferred by consumers, short finishing periods (30 days) are enough to improve and homogenize the carcasses of cull ewes, and supplementations with low levels of linseed (5% or 10%) would be recommended based on ‘cecina’ attributes and economical profitability
Summary
The aim of the study was to assess consumer acceptability of ‘cecina’ from cull ewes finished with different levels of linseed (5, 10 or 15%) for different periods before slaughtering (30, 50 or 70 days). Habits of consumption of cured products and preferences for different species and willingness to pay for ‘cecina’ were investigated. ‘Cecina’ is a traditional meat product that can be elaborated from several species after salting, drying and, occasionally, smoking different pieces of meat, mainly back leg and sirloin [1]. This product is appreciated and consumed in some countries of the Mediterranean area, but it has equivalents in many other areas of the world [2]
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