Table 1. Effect of different levels of intramuscular fat (low, medium, high) in beef on water-holding capacity characteristics, content of amino acids important for flavor and trained panel assessments. The average IMF (%) for the group is shown in brackets for each trait and level of IMF.
| Low IMF | Medium IMF | High IMF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flavor - chemical and sensory | |||
| Total umami/ sweet amino acids (mg/kg)1 | 70a (7.63) | 94b (12.65) | |
| Aspartic acid (mg/kg)1 (an amino acid contributing to umami) | 0.80a (7.63) | 1.14b (12.65) | |
| Trained panel - overall flavor impact (scale 0=100)1 | 60.39a (7.8) | 60.87a (10.9) | 63.95b (17.5) |
| Juiciness/water - chemical and sensory aspects | |||
| Moisture (%)3 | 73.68a (6.6) | 69.45b (11.02) | 60.93c (21.48) |
| Drip loss (%)2 | 6.26a (6.13) | 4.53b (9.87) | |
| Cook loss (%)1 | 27.0b (5.2) | 25.8b (10.2) | 23.6a (17.5) |
| Trained panel juiciness after 3 chews (scale 0=100)1 | 41.12b (7.8) | 43.5b (10.9) | 53.08a (17.5) |
| Trained panel juiciness after 10 chews (scale 0=100)1 | 36.24b (7.8) | 38.4b (10.9) | 46.82a (17.5) |
a,bMeans with different superscripts within a row are significantly different (p<0.05).