Biochemical Factors Affecting East Asian Consumers’ Sensory Preferences of Six Beef Shank Cuts

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate biochemical factors affecting Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and East Asian consumers’ eating preferences of 6 different beef shank cuts cooked by moist heat. Six different beef shank muscles were collected from 12 USDA Choice beef carcasses (N = 72). Shank cuts from the left sides were cooked with moist heat and used for East Asian consumer sensory evaluation and WBSF, and shank cuts from the right sides were left uncooked and used for biochemical analysis and visual panels utilizing the same group of consumers. A correlation analysis was conducted to determine the driving factors that contributed to WBSF and East Asian consumers’ overall liking for beef shanks. Biceps brachii and flexor digitorum superficialis-pelvic received the greatest sensory overall liking, with deep digital flexor from the foreshank having the lowest scores (P < 0.01). Deep digital flexor from the foreshank had the greatest WBSF value, most cooked collagen content, and greatest insoluble collagen percentage as well as the greatest raw and cooked pyridinoline (PYD) densities among all the beef shank cuts (P < 0.05). For visual overall liking, shank cuts at approximately 700–750 g such as biceps brachii and extensor carpi radialis received the highest ratings (P < 0.01), and consumers indicated that there was no visual difference in surface color among the shank cuts (P > 0.10). Correlation analysis showed that cooked collagen content and insoluble collagen percentage as well as raw PYD densities had positive correlations with WBSF (P < 0.05) and negative correlations with consumer overall liking (P < 0.01). Surprisingly, collagen content from uncooked shank cuts did not have a direct relationship with consumers’ overall liking nor with WBSF. The results demonstrated that raw PYD density may be a great indicator for cooked beef tenderness in beef cuts with a high concentration of connective tissue prepared with moist heat cookery.

An Investigation on the Influence of Various Biochemical Tenderness Factors on Eight Different Bovine Muscles

“…Ueda et al (2007) further corroborated this postulation, wherein they found a negative correlation between fat content and shear force values (r = −0.83) in the loins of Wagyu cattle, a breed known for its high levels of marbling. On the other hand, the findings of the current study agreed with Chun et al (2020), who found an inverse relationship between collagen content and overall tenderness (r = −0.42), and Wu et al (2021) and Zimmerman et al (1993), who both found mature collagen crosslink density had a positive correlation with different types of mechanical stress measurement. Finally, this is the first study to the authors' knowledge that reported a statistically significant correlation between overall tenderness and DPD density for GM.…”

“…It was also peculiar that the panelists perceived RA to have one of the highest connective tissue amounts, considering it has one of the lowest collagen contents according to the biochemical analysis. Wu et al (2021) found that mature collagen crosslink PYD is heat stable, and as PYD density increases, the overall solubility of collagen decreases. Consequently, this results in a tougher connective tissue texture in cooked meat products, which may explain the high amount of connective tissue detected by the trained panels in PP and RA.…”

“…Mature crosslinks pyridinoline (PYD) and deoxypyridinoline (DPD) were determined by an ultra-highpressure liquid chromatography system (Acquity UPLC H-Class, Waters Corporation, Milford, MA) equipped with a Fluorescence Detector as described by Wu et al (2021). Briefly, the crosslinks were separated using a high-strength silica T3 2.1 × 100 mm, 1.8 μm column (Waters Corporation) with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min and column temperature at 60°C.…”

Meta-analysis of the relationship between collagen characteristics and meat tenderness

“…Although the correlations between collagen content and solubility and tenderness attributes were weak, the increase in the density of heat-stable collagen cross-links was positively related to increasing toughness, which was also shown by several studies (Listrat et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2021). However, McCormick (1999 reported that increased density of pyridinoline cross-link was related to increased collagen solubility and WBSF.…”

An Investigation of the Altered Textural Property in Woody Breast Myopathy Using an Integrative Omics Approach

“…Therefore, the scar tissue and fibrosis in WB filets could potentially be leading to the promotion of high densities of collagen crosslinking. Finally, Wu et al (2021) documented a strong positive correlation between PYD density in raw beef shank cuts and WBSF and connective tissue texture evaluated by East Asian consumers. It is likely the increase in mature collagen crosslink density may contribute to the rubbery texture and increased thermal denaturation temperature of the connective tissue observed in WB samples from this study.…”