New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts

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The effect of diet on the flavour of cooked beef and the odour compounds in beef fat

O. A. YOUNG

MIRINZ Food Technology and Research Ltd
P.O. Box 617
Hamilton, New Zealand

B. M. B. BAUMEISTER

Langestraat 11
7491 AA Delden, Holland

Abstract  Fatty meat from cattle finished for nine weeks on ryegrass/clover or maize was evaluated for intensity of pastoral odour and flavour by a sensory panel. Although there was no significant treatment effect for intensity, panellists' comments indicated that even this short period on a maize diet could change descriptions of odour and flavour; when assessed by independent assessors, the pasture treatment had a much lower ratio of "favourable" to "unfavourable" comments (P < 0.01). Odorous compounds in fat from the two treatments were examined by odourport sniffing, where compounds eluting from a gas chromatographic column were described, and identified where possible. Two "sniffers" semiquantitatively evaluated the fat volatiles, first trapped on Tenax then resolved on a column. Comparisons between treatments were largely unproductive. However, particularly odorous compounds were tentatively identified along with others of interest with respect to dietary origins. Compounds included 4-heptenal (and/or the coeluant heptanal), 1-octen-3-ol, nonanal, 2,6-nonadienal, nonanoic acid, and the faecal-smelling compound indole. 4-Methylphenol was not detected by sniffing but was present in the fat headspace. The chemical origins of these compounds are discussed in relation to diet.

Keywords  beef; pasture; maize; pastoral odour; pastoral flavour; odourport; fat; linolenic acid; 4-heptenal; 1-octen-3-ol; 2,6-nonadienal; phenols; skatole

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 1999, Vol. 42: 297-304

0028-8233/99/4203-0297 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1999

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (680K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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