Flavour formation in pork semimembranosus: Combination of pan-temperature and raw meat quality Lene Meinert a,b , Kaja Tikk c , Meelis Tikk c , Per B. Brockhoff d , Camilla Bejerholm a , Margit D. Aaslyng a, * a Danish Meat Research Institute, Maglegaardsvej 2, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark b The University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Life Sciences, Rolighedsvej 30, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark c The University of Aarhus, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark d The Technological University of Denmark, Anker Engelundsvej 101A, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark Received 27 June 2007; received in revised form 21 November 2007; accepted 27 November 2007 Abstract Flavour development and overall eating quality of pork semimembranosus were investigated with regard to different raw meat qual- ities (feeding/fasting strategy; control/low glycogen level, gender; castrate/female, slaughter live-weight; 84 kg/110 kg) combined with frying temperature (150 °C/240 °C). It was further investigated whether the precursor levels of glycogen, IMP, inosine, and hypoxanthine in the raw meat were correlated to the raw meat quality and fried/grilled attributes. Pork schnitzels were fried on a pan (155 °C) or grill– pan (240–250 °C) to a core temperature of 70 °C. Frying temperature was the one factor with greatest influence on the sensory attributes, and pan-grilled schnitzels had significantly higher scores in fried/grilled attributes regardless of meat quality compared to pan-fried schnitzels. Texture was not appreciably influenced by any treatment. There was no correlation between precursor levels and raw meat qualities or fried sensory attributes. Gender and slaughter live-weight had no pronounced influence on flavour and overall eating quality. Ó 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: Pork; Flavour; Frying temperature; Sensory analysis; Gender; Slaughter live-weight; Glycogen; IMP; Hypoxanthine; Inosine 1. Introduction Flavour, appearance, tenderness and juiciness are very important attributes with regard to eating quality of pork (Wood, Nute, Fursey, & Cuthbertson, 1995). A recent con- sumer study in Denmark revealed that Danish consumers prefer tender pork with an intense fried flavour, and that both attributes varied with raw meat quality and cooking method (Aaslyng et al., 2007). Flavour is generated from reactions of various flavour precursors, including reducing monosaccharides and inosine monophosphate (IMP), dur- ing heating (Baltzer, Santora, & Landmann, 1962; Mot- tram, 1991; Mottram & Madruga, 1994). Tenderness has been shown to depend positively upon intra muscular fat (Aaslyng & Støier, 2004) and ageing (Wheeler & Koohma- raie, 1994), and negatively on the amount of connective tis- sue (Honikel, 1992). All eating quality attributes are influenced by factors within the production system, includ- ing feeding strategies, gender and slaughter weight, and also by processing methods, e.g. ageing (Wood et al., 1995). The weight at slaughter is chosen with respect to overall factors such as the price of feed and the products to be derived from the carcass. However, slaughter weight may influence the eating quality (Ellis & McKeith, 1995), though the reported results differ in conclusions. Bejerholm and Aaslyng (2003) found that meat (Longissimus dorsi) from pigs with a higher warm carcass weight (>90 kg) was more tender than meat from the lower warm carcass weight group (<65 kg), but the weight did not influence odour and flavour attributes. On the contrary; C ˇ andek- Potokar, Z ˇ lender, Lefaucheur, and Bonneau (1998) found 0309-1740/$ - see front matter Ó 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2007.11.029 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +45 46 30 31 94; fax: +45 46 30 31 32. E-mail address: mas@danishmeat.dk (M.D. Aaslyng). www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Meat Science 80 (2008) 249–258 MEAT SCIENCE