Effects of Different Aging Methods on the Quality of Kazakh Mutton during Frozen Storage
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Abstract:
The effects of ultrasound-assisted freezing after aging, conventional refrigeration after aging and direct freezing on the quality of frozen mutton were studied. Taking the Kazakh sheep semimembranous muscle and the longissimus dorsi muscle as the research objects, the tenderness, color and water retention capacity of mutton during frozen storage were measured, and the effects of three aging methods on the quality of mutton were also analyzed. RThe results showed that the thaw loss (6.93% and 7.24%) and cooking loss (33.67% and 30.12%) of the semimembranous muscle and longissimus dorsi muscle in the conventional cold aging following 12-week freezing group were smaller than those of the other two groups, having the greatest water retention, slowest color deterioration and the best eating quality. The shearing force (84.4 N, 86.4 N) and myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI; 46.3, 47.6) values of the semimembranous muscle and longissimus dorsi muscle in the ultrasound-assisted aging following freezing group were worse than those for the other groups, having the worst eating quality. For the direct freezing group, the thaw loss (7.22% and 11.06%) and shear force (98.2 N, 95 N) of the semimembranous muscle and the longissimus dorsi muscle were significantly higher than those of the other two groups (P<0.05) at the 12th week, and the eating quality of mutton was the worst. In summary, the refrigerated aging had the least negative impact on the quality of mutton during frozen storage, which is a more suitable aging method before the frozen storage of mutton, resulting in better preservation of mutton’s edible quality.
