The use of rosemary extracts to improve the flavor of precooked low fat ground beef patties

Abstract

Reduced fat meat products are readily available in the marketplace. Precooked beef patties are used by foodservice establishments for their convenience but the quality of these products may be lower due to warmed-over flavor. The objective of this study was to determine if the fat content of precooked ground beef patties has an effect on the development of warmed-over flavor (WOF) and to determine if WOF could be reduced by using rosemary antioxidants. Ground beef patties (70, 80 and 90% lean) were formed into 100g patties, grilled to an internal temperature of 72°C and stored for 9 days at 4°C. Herbalock type D-20 (Kalsec, Inc.) was added at 0.45 percent (w/w). The thiobarbituric acid test (TBA) and gas chromatographic headspace analysis were performed to determine the extent of lipid oxidation. All patties with rosemary antioxidants had lower TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) than those patties without rosemary. After 9 days of refrigerated storage TBARS for the patties with no antioxidant averaged 7.7 ± 1.6 mg/kg while the patties containing rosemary averaged 3.6 ± 1.1 mg/kg. Headspace analysis of volatile development supported this data with lower total area of volatiles for the patties with the rosemary antioxidant. No difference was found among the patties with the three levels of fat when no antioxidant was present. However, when rosemary was added, the lowest TBARS and total volatiles were found with the 90% lean patties. Fat content does affect the development of warmed-over flavor with the lower fat content patties developing less warmed-over flavor but only when a rosemary extract was used.