Effect of pasture on chestnut or acorn on fatty acid composition and aromatic profile of fat of Cinta Senese dry-cured ham

Carolina Pugliese,Silvia Parenti,Diana Martin,Francesco Sirtori,Oreste Franci,Jorge Ruiz

doi:10.3989/gya.130208

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pasture on oak and chestnut grove on chemical and aromatic traits of Cinta Senese cured ham. Fifteen Cinta Senese barrows (124 kg of l.w. on average) were allotted to three groups: one group (MI) was reared outdoors in confined area and fed commercial feedstuff. The other two groups were raised under free-range conditions on acorn (AC) or chestnut (CH) woods. At slaughtering (148 kg of l.w.) the right thighs were seasoned for 360 days, on average, to obtained cured hams. Results demonstrated that subcutaneous fat of ham of CH and AC groups, respect to CONC group, was the richest in MUFA (51.3 and 53.9 vs 49.5% respectively), because of the higher content of oleic acid (48.4 and 50.8 vs 46.2%, respectively). AC showed a lower percentage of PUFA than CH and CONC (13.8 vs 15.4 and 16.3%, respectively). As regard volatile compounds, AC, respect to CH and MI groups, showed the highest value of aldehydes (44.1 vs 30.3 and 33.5% respectively) and ethers (4.04 vs 1.15 and 1.71% respectively).

Highlights

The Tuscan dry-cured ham is a traditional pork meat product from Central Italy with a Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) registration
Nowadays an increasing number of Tuscan hams is produced with the local Cinta Senese pig and consumers confer to those hams a consistent added value (Franci, 2004)
The farming system used with the Cinta Senese is typical of the extensive pig production in the Mediterranean area

Summary

Introduction

The Tuscan dry-cured ham is a traditional pork meat product from Central Italy with a Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) registration. Nowadays an increasing number of Tuscan hams is produced with the local Cinta Senese pig and consumers confer to those hams a consistent added value (Franci, 2004). The farming system used with the Cinta Senese is typical of the extensive pig production in the Mediterranean area. The characterization of meat from the extensive rearing system of the local breed could be exploited to increase the commercial value of the ham, to the Iberian pig experience (Lopez-Bote, 1998). The quality of Cinta Senese meat strongly depends on rearing and feeding system (Pugliese and Bozzi, 2004) in the future, the commercial value of dry-cured products of this breed could be linked to a particular rearing system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pasture on oak plantation and on chestnut grove on chemical and aromatic traits of dry-cured ham

Objectives

Methods

Results