The influence of cooking technique and core temperature on results of a sensory analysis of pork—depending on the raw meat quality

Abstract

The study comprised two experiments whose aim was to investigate how variations in cooking techniques and core temperature influenced the results of a sensory profile analysis depending on raw meat quality of pork. In the first experiment five different cooking techniques were used: mincing and preparing as patties on a pan, steaks prepared on a pan, whole roasts prepared in a pot, whole roasts prepared in an oven at 140 or 90 °C. The experimental material included two muscles, m. longissimus dorsi (LD) and m. biceps femoris (BF), and two weight groups (warm carcass weight <65 kg and >90 kg). The results of the sensory analyses indicated that cooking as steaks on a pan gave a good all round sensory analysis with focus on appearance, flavour and texture while cooking in an oven at a low temperature gave a more detailed description of variations in texture attributes. In the second experiment two muscles (LD and BF) from both sides of ordinary commercial slaughter pigs were prepared as steaks on a pan or as roast in an oven at 90 °C to a core temperature of 65, 75 or 80 °C, respectively. The results of the sensory analysis indicated differences between muscles or cooking techniques dependent on the core temperature. The largest difference between samples with respect to odour and flavour was caused by the cooking technique. For all three core temperatures it was possible to differentiate between muscles (LD and BF) in both cooking techniques (pan frying and oven cooking) for most of the texture attributes. A core temperature of 65 °C is preferred if focus is on flavour components whereas 75 °C is recommended if a discrimination of the samples in overall sensory properties is desired.