The effect of slaughter age and aging period on water-holding capacity and tenderness of mutton

Abstract

Mutton samples (m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum; LL) originating from 30 Istrian ewes were used to determine EZ drip loss (DL), thaw loss (TL), cooking loss (CL), and Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) in relation to age at slaughter and different post mortem aging periods (1, 7, and 14 days). DL was measured according to the EZ method after storage periods of 24 and 48 h. Determination of TL, CL, and WBSF was performed for samples aged prior to freezing for 1, 7, and 14 days. A significantly lower TL (P<0.05) was observed in the mutton samples that aged for 1 day (7.76%) prior to freezing compared to the mutton samples that aged for 7 days (9.91%) and 14 days (9.32%) prior to freezing. The WBSF revealed significant differences between the aging periods (P<0.05), indicating that mutton aged 7 (33.92 N) and 14 (28.23 N) days showed greater tenderness than mutton with a shorter aging period (43.89 N). Considering that there was no significant difference between mutton aged for 7 and 14 days in water-holding capacity and shear force, there is no reasonable reason for aging mutton longer than 7 days. Therefore, further research into shorter aging periods, the sensory quality of mutton, and its acceptability by consumers is needed.