THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENCES IN INHERENT MUSCLE QUALITY AND FROZEN STORAGE ON THE FLAVOR AND TEXTURE PROFILES OF PORK LOIN ROASTS

Complete flavor and texture profiles on pork loins from 118 carcasses revealed the following findings: (1) freezing, storing and thawing pork loins produced a slight tenderizing effect by making them less cohesive and easier to chew; permitted greater moisture release during chewing, thereby, slightly increasing the juiciness; resulted in a breakdown to more appropriate residual particles which resulted in a more appropriate, well balanced and blended texture; but resulted in a less appropriate and well balanced flavor; (2) pork with normal muscle quality had a firmer, more elastic, and cohesive texture which was stringier, more fibrous, and harder to compress, resulting in a slower breakdown to particles which tended to be fibrous, grainy and mealy; (3) the PSE condition appeared to result in a drier texture with less moisture and fat being released during mastication and a greater amount of moisture being absorbed from the mouth; (4) the DFD condition appeared to result in a juicier texture with greater amounts of fat and moisture being released into the mouth during mastication and a softer texture which was less cohesive, fibrous, and stringy and easier to chew, but as the DFD condition became extreme the texture became excessively soft, crumbly and mushy resulting in a relatively large proportion of small mealy and/or mushy particles which detracted from the texture amplitude; (5) the PSE condition resulted in a predominance of sour notes which detracted from the flavor amplitude, and possibly resulted from more extensive accumulation of lactic acid during postmortem glycolysis; and (6) the DFD condition resulted in a predominance of porky, sweet, and fatty character notes which enhanced the flavor amplitude but as the DFD condition became extreme, more character notes contributing to off-flavors were detected, a portion of which were apparently due to sex taint. Present findings clearly document the influence of differences in inherent muscle quality on palatability properties of pork loins and aid in resolving the controversy that presently exists within the literature regarding the effects of freezing, frozen storage, and thawing on pork palatability. However, further research will be required to document the impact of such influences on consumer acceptance. © 1990.