This study determined antioxidant and sensory characteristics of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, pepper, and star anise (Chinese 5-spice ingredients) in cooked ground beef. Total aerobic plate counts were also measured. Mean thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values were high (3.4 ppm) for control cooked ground beef samples. With 1% use level, all spice treatments had lower pooled mean TBA values than controls. At the lowest use level of 0.1% of meat weight, all spices except pepper had lower TBA values than controls. Treatments with 0.1% cloves had lower (P < 0.05) TBA values than 0.1% levels of other individual spices. Star anise, fennel, pepper, and cinnamon samples at 0.5% use level had lower mean TBA values than controls, but not different from 1.0% levels, respectively. Thus, the lowest effective spice level for cloves was 0.1% and 0.5% for the other spices. There was a high correlation (P < 0.01) between TBA values and panel scores for rancid odor and flavor (0.83 and 0.78, respectively). Spice flavor was inversely correlated (P < 0.01) with rancid odor and flavor (-0.57 and -0.61, respectively). The 5-spice blends did not affect microbial load of cooked samples compared with controls. In conclusion, all spices and blends had a dual effect, reducing rancid odor/flavor and imparting a distinctive flavor to cooked ground beef.

This study determined antioxidant effects and sensory attributes of individual ingredients (black pepper, caraway, cardamom, chili powder, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel, ginger, nutmeg, salt, star anise) of an Indian spice blend (garam masala) in cooked ground beef. Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values were measured as an indicator of rancidity for cooked samples on 1‐, 8‐, or 15‐d refrigerated storage. Cooked samples were evaluated by a trained panel (n= 13) for the intensity of rancid odor/flavor, beef flavor, and spice flavor and correlated with TBA values of same day samples. We also investigated possible additive effects between spice antioxidants and iron binding (type II) antioxidants on lipid oxidation by measuring TBA values. All spices had antioxidant effects on cooked ground beef, compared to controls. Among spices, cloves were the most effective in controlling lipid oxidation, with TBA values of 0.75, after 15‐d refrigerated storage. All spices at their recommended levels lowered rancid odor and flavor in cooked ground beef, compared to controls. As expected, most spices also imparted distinctive flavors to cooked ground beef. There was a positive correlation (0.77) between TBA values on 15‐d refrigerated storage and rancid odor/flavor. Type II antioxidants (iron‐binding phosphate compounds) were more effective than individual type I antioxidants (spices and butylated hydroxytoluene; BHT) for maintenance of low TBA values in cooked ground beef during storage. Additive effects were observed with rosemary + milk mineral or sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) compared to rosemary alone.