The effectiveness of Honje (Etlingera elatior) biomass to improve the physical quality of native chicken meat

Abstract

Improving physical quality of native chicken meat is important to increase consumer acceptance. Native chicken meat is known to have tough texture and dark colour hence it is less favoured by consumers. One method to improve physical quality is by using cheap and abundant spices. Honje (Etlingera elatior) is a gnarled fruit with slightly sour taste from kecombrang flowers that is usually used as a spice. The research design used a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 6 replications. The treatments consisted of P0: without marination using Honje Fruit, P2: Marinade 2 grams of Honje Fruit, P2: Marinade 4 grams of Honje Fruit and P3: Marinade 6 grams of Honje Fruit. The parameters in this study were physical quality of the meat which consisted of pH value, water content, tenderness, cooking loss, and meat colour. The results showed that marinade of 4 grams of Honje Fruit was effective in maintaining the pH value of meat, reducing the percentage of cooking loss, and increasing tenderness. Marinade using Honje Fruit was also effective in maintaining the moisture content of the meat, increasing the brightness, maintaining the freshness of meat by originating reddish and yellowish colours.