Influence of stewing time on the texture, ultrastructure and invitro digestibility of meat from the yellow-feathered chicken breed.

Abstract

This study assessed the influence of stewing (1, 2 or 3h) on the texture, ultrastructure and invitro digestibility of meat from the yellow-feathered chicken, which is a popular broiler chicken in Asia. Results indicated that longer stewing considerably increased cooking loss of the chicken carcass and tenderness of thigh meat. After 3h of stewing, protein digestibility decreased from 90.5% to 80.3% and fiber diameter decreased by 8.63μm. The shear force value of breast meat decreased from 32.34N at 1h to 10.29N at 2h, and then increased to 39.98N at 3h. The texture profile of breast meat remarkably decreased during stewing. Moreover, increased stewing time induced longitudinal and transversal shrinkage of muscle fibers and the degradation of the myosin heavy chain. These findings suggested that prolonged stewing (3h) resulted in decreased meat qualities, based on the changes in cooking loss, digestibility and texture profile, but that stewing for 2h increased thigh and breast tenderness. Producers could utilize this information to stew yellow-feathered chicken meat with desirable qualities.