Comparative Analysis of the Quality of Tibetan Sheep Meat Subjected to Wet Aging at Different Temperatures

Abstract:

The optimal wet-aging conditions for Tibetan sheep meat are currently unknown; thus, the pH, shear force, chromatic aberration, total number of colonies, cooking loss, centrifugal loss, fat oxidation, and protein oxidation indexes were investigated in meat subjected to wet-aging over 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 days at 4 and 10 ℃. The results showed that the Tibetan sheep meat was fully aged after 3 days at 10 ℃, and an increase in the pH value was observed as compared to fresh meat (0 days), along with a significant decrease in the shear force (to 49.69 N), a cooking loss of 30.85%, and a centrifugal loss of 9.37% (P<0.05). The meat was also fully aged after 5 days at 4 ℃ , with an increase in the pH value as compared to fresh meat (0 d) accompanied by a significant decrease in the shear force (to 51.52 N), and decreases in the cooking and centrifugal losses of 29.37% and 10.12%, respectively, with the difference significant at P<0.05. Although the meat was fully aged when kept at 4 and 10 ℃, the color, fat oxidation and protein oxidation of the Tibetan sheep meat were not significantly different. The results suggest that the time required for the complete aging of Tibetan sheep is shorter, the tenderization speed is faster, and the water holding capacity is superior at 10 ℃. The study is expected to provide a theoretical basis for improving the quality of Tibetan sheep meat.