Meat Flavor

Definition
• The particular way a substance, esp. food or
drink, is recognized from its taste and smell
• Two components of flavor are taste and aroma
or smell.
 Taste
• Regarding taste, it is generally accepted that
there are five taste perceptions: sweet, sour,
salt, bitter and umami.
• These are caused by a relatively few non-
volatile, water soluble components.
• These are detected on the tongue.
 Aroma or smell
• Aroma or smell is produced by volatile
substances.
• These are detected by olfactory receptors in
the passages at the back of the nose.
• The information from the tongue and nose is
integrated and interpreted by the brain as
flavor.
 Flavor
• Raw meat has little flavor.
• Only on heating during cooking do the
characteristic flavors associated with meat
develop.
• The flavors have two aspects.
– non-species-specific component
– species-specific component
 Non-species-specific component
• The nonspecies-specific meat flavour is
derived from heating low molecular weight
water-soluble compounds.
• The main precursors are free sugars, sugar
phosphates, nucleotide bound sugars, free
amino acids, peptides, nucleotides and other
nitrogenous compounds
 Species-specific component
• The species-specific flavor comes from heating
the fats present in meat, especially the
phospholipids and to a lesser degree the
triglycerides.
• Many of the volatile compounds produced on
heating are fat-soluble.
• A compound’s contribution to flavor depends
on two things: first, how much is produced, and
second, the odor threshold level.
 Flavor generation
Main processes contributing to the generation
of these flavors on cooking the meat are
• Lipid degradation (oxidative reactions)
• Maillard reaction and Strecker degradation
• Carbohydrate degradation
• Thiamine degradation
• Degradation of ribonucleotides
 Lipid degradation (oxidative reactions)
• The oxidative reactions during cooking of
unsaturated fatty acids produce the
generation of a wide number of volatile
compounds, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols,
aliphatic hydrocarbons, acids, and esters.
• Unsaturated fatty acids are less stable so they
are the process of flavor generation.
• Phospholipids play major role than
triglycerides
 Maillard Reaction
• The Maillard reaction between a reducing sugar and amino
compound produces a high number of volatile compounds
in thermally processed foods.
• This reaction is favored by high temperatures and low
moisture
• At the first stages, it results in the generation of furanones,
furfurals, dicarbonyl compounds, and others.
• Furthermore, reactions of the compounds with reactive
compounds such as amines, amino acids, hydrogen sulfide,
thiols, ammonia, lead to the generation of heterocyclic
compounds (pyrazines, oxazoles, thiophenes, thiazoles) with
low-odor threshold and high aroma impact
 Strecker Degradation
• The Strecker degradation of amino acids by dicarbonyl
compounds originated from Maillard reaction produces
a deamination and decarboxylation of the amino acid.
• This reaction results in an aldehyde with a fewer carbon
than the original amino acid and an alpha-aminoketone.
• These compounds act as as aroma contributors in
different cooked meats
• The contribution of Maillard and Strecker reactions to
odor notes is related to roasted, toasty, caramel, fried,
potato, meaty, etc. odors
 Carbohydrate degradation
• Carbohydrate s lose the elements of water in
two stages (at 180C and 220C), forming
furfural from pentoses and
hydroxymethylfurfural from hexoses.
• Main role is played by carbohydrates in
maillard reaction.
 Thiamine Degradation
• Thiamin appears to be an important precursor
of meat aroma as its degradation produces
furans, thiophenes, thiazoles, and aliphatic
sulfur compounds
 Degradation of ribonucleotides
• The degradation of ribonucleotides by the
enzymatic dephosphorylation and deamination of
adenosine triphosphate in postslaughter muscle
contributes to the generation of flavor
compounds by the production of ribose from
inosine monophosphate and 5’-ribonucleotides.
• The ribose generated will take part in Maillard
reactions
• While 5’-ribonucleotides are per se umami
compounds.
 Pre and Post slaughter factors affecting
aroma
• Breed, Age, Muscle type, pH and aging
• Farming and feeding practices
– 4-methyloctanoic acid and 4-mehtylphenol
– Germacrene D marker of grass feeding in beef
• Cooking
– roasted beef contributes to the generation of sulfur and
carbonyl compounds with high odor impact
– stewed beef is characterized by the presence of 12-
methyltridecanal, methanethiol, acetic acid,
acetaldehyde, and furaneol
 Off-flavors
• Warmed over flavor
– The off-flavor referred to as “warmed over flavor” (WOF)
in cooked meat was ascribed to the oxidation of lipids and,
more specifically, to that of phospholipids catalyzed by
both heme and nonheme iron.
– Any process that damages muscle membranes, such as
chopping or emulsification, exacerbates the condition,
– Lipid oxidation can be retarded by the use of antioxidants,
such as nitrite, phosphate, and naturally occurring herbs
and spices (e.g., rosemary).
– The compounds responsible for the WOF odor have been
identified as an increase of n-hexanal and trans-4,5-epoxy-
(E)-2-decenal
 Off-flavors
• Irradiation odors
– Irradiation of fresh meat can result in the development of
off-odors described as rotten egg, bloody, fishy, burnt, sulfur.
– Several factors affect the development of off-flavor during
irradiation: type of meat, temperature, oxygen exposure,
packaging, and antioxidative substances.
– Several volatile compounds have been produced, but
aldehydes and sulfur compound such as dimethyl trisulfide
are important for off-flavors.
– Several techniques are used to prevent the off-flavor
formation, such as low temperature to control the free
radical generation, vacuum packaging to exclude oxygen, use
of inert gas, and addition of antioxidants
 Microbial odors
• Spoilage depends upon storage conditions and
specific bacteria involved.

• Micro-organism growing on the meat surface

produces sour odor, while, anaerobic bacteria
produces putrid smell.
 Flavour measurement
• Gas chromatography & Mass spectrometry
(GC-MS)
• Olphactometry