Influence of age on senzoric properties of lamb meat

Abstract

The meat of sheep, which also includes the category of lamb meat, is used by consumers all over the world of all cultures and religions, even though a considerable number of people do not accept this type of meat because of its characteristic smell and taste. One of the factors that influence the acceptability of meat and meat products are the sensoric properties (appearance, taste and smell which all together make up the aroma, tenderness and juiciness, the meat texture) The meat of lambs of mixed breed, combined Svrljig and Pirot Pramenka, was used as the material in this experiment. The lambs were aged one, three and five months at the time of slaughter. They were fed in a combined manner: with milk, on pastures, and with the addition of concentrated feeds to their diet ration. The meat was heat processed in an oven at a temperature of 170oC over a period of 60 minutes. Eight evaluators took part in the experiment. The quantitative descriptive analysis (ISO 6564/85) comprised structure scales of intensity with seven points, with the examination of smell intensity, tenderness, juiciness, intensity (fullness) of taste, acceptability of aroma, and total acceptability. Following thermic processing, the smell of the meat was the most intense in the meat of lambs aged five months. The most tender meat was that originating from lambs aged three months, and the juiciest meat was that of lambs aged five months. According to the evaluators, the tastiest meat was that originating from lambs aged three months. The specific aroma of lamb meat was most expressed in the meat of lambs aged three months. Total acceptability, as a very complex property dependent on a series of factors, nuanced by a large number of volatile compounds which individually have a very low threshold of detection, but are observed together and in combination with the other organoleptic characteristics, was most favorably assessed in the meat of lambs aged three months.