Author
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LYON, BRENDA |
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LYON, CLYDE |
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Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/1996 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Texture is an important attribute of cooked chicken. Measurement of texture by sensory and instrumental methods can be done in a variety of ways by researchers. Important aspects of measurements are the sample size and muscle fiber orientation relative to the instrument used. Size of samples presented to sensory panels is also important. In this study, two sensory and two mechanical procedures for texture measurement were evaluated for ability to differentiate deboning treatments. Evaluating several smaller sample pieces (each approximately 1 x 1 cm) together, by machine or by sensory panels, was less sensitive to differences in chewiness and juiciness characteristics. Treatment differentiation was more sensitive by sensory or mechanical methods when larger sample pieces (approximately 2 x 2 cm) were evaluated singly. Technical Abstract: Texture of cooked chicken breast is usually determined on intact pieces or strips that are representative of the muscle. Researchers emphasize the importance of uniformity of sample size and orientation of fibers to the shearing blades to ensure consistent data from instruments such as shear devices. For sensory evaluations, sample pieces of chicken breasts presented to panelists are often sized as single 2-cm2 or several 1-cm2 pieces. In this study, two sensory and two mechanical procedures were evaluated for efficacy in discerning texture differences in 1-cm2 pieces of cooked chicken. Three postmortem deboning times (2, 6, and 24 h) provided a texture quality spectrum. Sensory characteristics were evaluated by descriptive analysis-trained panel (DA-TP) and by category scales-untrained panel (CS-UP). Twenty-g breast portions of 1-cm2 pieces were evaluated using multi-blade Allo-Kramer (AK) shear blade. Warner-Bratzler (WB) shear rvalues of intact 1.9 cm wide strips were also recorded. Discriminant analysis classification based on CS-UP gave higher error rates (probabilities of misclassification) than classification based on DA-TP. CS-UP error rates were .36 (tender) and .65 (juiciness). Error rate of classification by DA-TP was .21. Error rates for classification by mechanical devices were .30 for WB and .21 for AK. Sample size is a consideration in texture evaluation protocols. Smaller sample pieces appear to mask differences in initial chew characteristics and in juiciness that are due to deboning time. Key Words: texture sensory descriptive shear Warner-Bratzler Allo-Kramer |
