Proximate and fatty acid compositions and sensory acceptability of Hispanic consumers towards rib‐eye steaks from forage‐finished steers

Proximate and fatty acid compositions and sensory acceptability of rib‐eye steaks (fresh and 6 months frozen‐stored) from three forage‐finished steers [S1 (bermudagrass + ryegrass, etc.); S2 (bermudagrass + ryegrass + berseem, etc.); S3 (bermudagrass+berseem+soybean+brown midrib sorghum, etc.)] and one commercial steak (C), cooked by one‐sided and/or two‐sided grilling, were evaluated. All forage‐finished steaks had lower [omega‐6/omega‐3] ratios than C. Sensory liking was assessed by Hispanic consumers. Raw C steak had higher fat and lower protein contents than others (S1, S2 and S3). Concerning raw steaks, S3 had higher liking scores for overall appearance and fat appearance than others. Two cooking methods did not cause significant differences in sensory liking. Juiciness and overall liking of cooked C and S3 (one‐sided grilling) steaks were not significantly different. Purchase intent (after knowing health benefits of forage‐finished steaks) increased from 62.0–73.8% to 69.8–85.7%. Forage‐finished steaks showed a potentially healthier lipid profile than grain‐finished steaks and had market potential towards Hispanic population.     

SENSORY AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PRECOOKED, MICROWAVE-REHEATABLE STEAKS

Precooked, small-portion, microwave-reheatable steaks were processed from three grades (US Choice, US Select⁺, and US Select^-) of top round beef. Marinated/tenderized samples were compared to nonmarinated/nontenderized controls from each grade. Untrained consumers (n=102) rated the sensory attributes, overall acceptability, and willingness to purchase the steaks at various settings (fast food, restaurant/cafeteria, supermarket). Marination and tenderization improved the sensory attributes, overall acceptability, and consumers' willingness to purchase the steaks, regardless of the grade from which they were prepared. Marinated/tenderized steaks from the US Select grade were more acceptable than nonmarinated/nontenderized steaks from the US Choice grade. Marinated/tenderized steaks from each grade required less force and energy to cut, contained about 3% more moisture and 0.5% less fat, and had more cooking loss than their control counterparts. However, consumers rated the marinated/tenderized products as being more tender, juicy, flavorful and more acceptable overall than controls.     

Identifying drivers for consumer acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortilla

ABSTRACT:  The traditional production of corn tortilla has been modified by new processing technologies to make possible a commercial-scale production; this practice has resulted in products having sensory properties different from those produced by the traditional method. There is no published information on sensory attributes driving acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortillas. Identifying sensory drivers for acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortillas will help commercially produce products that satisfy consumers' expectations. A consumer study was conducted to evaluate acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortillas and determine drivers of acceptance and purchase intent of the products. Ten samples of corn tortillas were selected to represent a variety of corn tortillas available in the Mexican market. Three hundred Mexican consumers evaluated acceptability of appearance, color, thickness, rollability, resistance to tearing, aroma, chewiness, taste and aftertaste, and overall liking using a 9-point hedonic scale. Overall acceptance and purchase intent were determined with a yes/no scale. Analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance revealed that consumers were able to differentiate differences in sensory acceptability among 10 samples. For example, 2 homemade and 1 small commercial-scale samples, with an overall liking score of 6.6 to 6.7, were more acceptable than others. Rollability, resistance to tearing, and chewiness were attributes underlying overall differences among 10 samples. Attributes determining overall acceptance of corn tortillas were chewiness and overall liking. Purchase intent was influenced by overall appearance, rollability, chewiness, taste, and overall liking. This study revealed critical sensory attributes and their weights given by Mexican consumers when making decisions for acceptance and purchase intent of corn tortilla.     

Physical and sensory characterization and consumer preference of corn and barley-fed beef

Steaks from corn-fed and barley-fed beef were characterized by a trained panel, which rated corn-fed beef higher (p<0.05) for tenderness attributes and overall flavor intensity. Canadian consumers preferred (p<0.01) cooked and raw steaks from barley-fed beef, while Mexican consumers showed no preference (p>0.05) for either type of finished beef. Japanese consumers showed a preference (p<0.05) for the appearance of raw barley-fed steaks but a preference for cooked corn-fed steaks (p<0.05). No differences (p>0.05) were observed for Warner-Bratzler shear, marbling scores, cooking losses or Hunter colorimeter values. There was a trend for higher concentrations (p<0.08) of the saturated fatty acids in the barley treatment, but no differences (p>0.10) in mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids.     

Consumer Assessment of Beef Tenderloin Steaks from Various USDA Quality Grades at 3 Degrees of Doneness

A consumer study was conducted to determine palatability ratings of beef tenderloin steaks from USDA Choice, USDA Select, and USDA Select with marbling scores from Slight 50 to 100 (USDA High Select) cooked to various degrees of doneness. Steaks were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 degree of doneness categories: very‐rare, medium‐rare, or well‐done. Consumers (N = 315) were screened for preference of degree of doneness and fed 4 samples of their preferred doneness (a warm‐up and one from each USDA quality grade treatment in a random order). Consumers evaluated steaks on an 8‐point verbally anchored hedonic scale for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall like as well as rated steaks as acceptable or unacceptable for all palatability traits. Quality grade had no effect (P > 0.05) on consumer ratings for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall like scores, with all traits averaging above a 7 (“like very much”) on the 8‐point scale. In addition, no differences (P > 0.05) were found in the percentage of samples rated as acceptable for all palatability traits, with more than 94% of samples rated acceptable for each trait in all quality grades evaluated. Steaks cooked to well‐done had lower (P < 0.05) juiciness scores than steaks cooked to very‐rare or medium‐rare and were rated lower for tenderness (P < 0.05) than steaks cooked to a very‐rare degree of doneness. Results indicate consumers were not able to detect differences in tenderness, juiciness, flavor, or overall like among beef tenderloin steaks from USDA Choice and Select quality grades.     

The effect of degree of doneness of beef steaks on consumer acceptability of meals in restaurants

A total of 3554 consumers, who selected beef steak menu items at nine restaurants, were surveyed on their attitudes to beef and their assessment of beef steak meals. Consumers were asked to describe the menu item, their assessment of steak size and the degree of doneness of the steak, both as they ordered it and how they perceived it was delivered. Consumers rated the meal for tenderness, taste, overall satisfaction, value for money and intent to repurchase, and were also asked their sex, age and attitude to beef. The average ordered degree of doneness for all consumers was medium. A total of 30% of consumers considered they did not receive their steaks cooked to their ordered degree of doneness. The interaction between ordered and delivered degree of doneness had a highly significant (P < 0.001) effect on consumer scores for tenderness, taste, overall satisfaction, value for money and intent to repurchase. The maximum consumer scores were obtained when steaks were cooked to their ordered degree of doneness. If steaks were perceived not delivered as ordered, there was a decline in all consumer scores (P < 0.001), with a greater penalty for over- than under-cooking (P < 0.001). This study showed the dramatic penalty in consumer satisfaction for a chef failing to deliver a steak cooked to the ordered degree of doneness.     

Determining Acceptance of Domestic Forage- or Grain-Finished Beef by Consumers from Three Southeastern U.S. States

ABSTRACT:  Twenty-six crossbred steers were finished either on ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum Lam.) forage (FOR, n = 13) or a primarily grain diet containing 85% corn, 7.5% cotton-seed hulls, and 7.5% vitamin/mineral/urea supplement (GRAIN, n = 13) to determine the consumer acceptance of forage- and grain-finished beef in 3 southeastern states. Shear force values were not affected by finishing treatment ( P = 0.62), and both total and heat-labile collagen content means of the FOR and GRAIN steaks were similar ( P = 0.88 and 0.14, respectively). Ribeye steaks were cut from wholesale roasts after 14 d of aging and were evaluated by 1250 consumers in a retail study and 87 consumers in a take-home study across Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Retail consumers rated GRAIN steaks higher for flavor ( P = 0.001), overall palatability ( P = 0.001), and price per kg ( P = 0.001) compared to FOR steaks, but consumers in the take-home study found no differences in any of the 3 traits. Consumers that preferred FOR steaks were willing to pay an average of $2.38/kg and $5.61/kg more for FOR steaks than for GRAIN steaks in the retail and take-home studies, respectively ( P = 0.001). Among consumers surveyed across all 3 states, 34.1% of retail consumers and 54.0% of take-home consumers preferred FOR steaks. At least one-third of the consumers surveyed preferred the taste of forage-finished beef and were willing to pay a premium.     

Consumer acceptability of dark, firm and dry (DFD) and normal pH beef steaks

The sensory attributes of dark, firm and dry (DFD) and normal pH beef, both raw and fried, were evaluated and compared by a consumer panel (n=64). Consumer sensory evaluations indicated that the general appearance (P<0.05), colour (P<0.001) and acceptability (P<0.01) of raw normal pH steaks were preferred to those of raw DFD steaks. Twice as many panellists preferred the raw normal pH than raw DFD steaks because of the more attractive red colour, compared to the almost black colour of raw DFD steaks. No significant differences were found between the hedonic ratings of the sensory attributes of fried normal pH and fried DFD steaks. It was expected but not confirmed that consumers would find the tenderness of the DFD steaks more acceptable compared to the normal pH steaks. However, when forced to choose, female consumers significantly preferred fried normal pH steaks to fried DFD steaks, presumably because of a better flavour and more acceptable colour.     

Palatability of bison semimembranosus and effects of marination

The present study was conducted to investigate the palatability of bison semimembranosus muscle (SM) and the effects of injection with sodium chloride and sodium tripolyphosphate on cooking yield, colour, shear force and consumer acceptability. Twenty paired SM were obtained from 10 intact male bison (aged 24-30 months); each of these muscles was divided longitudinally into two sections. One section was injected to 110% of its original weight to contain 0.5% sodium chloride and 0.3% sodium tripolyphosphate, while the other was kept as a non-injected control. HunterLab a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) values did not differ (P>0.05) between injection treatments; however, injected steaks had lower L* values (darker) compared to controls. Control samples from bison SM were very lean and high in protein but not very tender. Marination by injection was able to significantly reduce shear force values of SM; that is, injected steaks/roasts had significantly (P<0.001) lower shear force values (63.9 N) compared to control samples (102.3 N). Cooking yields for the steaks/roasts from the injected sections were significantly (P<0.001) higher compared to those from control non-injected sections when cooked to either 71 or 77?°C. Bison samples cooked by moist-heat had significantly (P<0.001) lower cooking losses and shear force values compared to those cooked by dry-heat. As expected, steaks/roasts were more tender and had higher cooking yields when cooked to a medium level of doneness (71?°C) compared to an internal temperature of 77?°C (well done). A panel of 80 consumers preferred injected steaks cooked to 77?°C endpoint over other combinations, followed by non-injected steaks cooked to 71?°C, whereas injected steaks cooked to 71?°C and non-injected steaks cooked to 77?°C were equally but least preferred. Hence, injection seems to be protecting against moisture loss at high end-point cooking temperatures.     

INSTITUTIONAL COOKERY OF RESTRUCTURED BEEF STEAKS

Restructured beef steaks were cooked under four institutional cooking methodologies: oven roasting, grill frying, deep fat frying and broiling. The samples were evaluated for fat and moisture contents, cooking loss and texture. Sensory panels evaluated the steaks for texture desirability, flavor desirability, appearance and overall palat-ability. Evaluations were repeated using breaded, restructured beef steaks cooked by the four institutional methods, with grilled unbreaded steaks included for comparison. Deep fat fried, breaded and unbreaded steaks were significantly lower in moisture and higher in fat than those cooked by any other methodology. No significant differences in juiciness, flavor desirability or overall palatability were found between the unbreaded broiled, oven roasted or grilled samples. Broiled and grilled steaks were preferred for texture in the unbreaded and breaded samples. The unbreaded, deep fat fried samples received the lowest scores for all sensory attributes. Breading significantly improved the juiciness, texture and overall palatability of the deep fat fried steaks. For both breaded and unbreaded samples, grill frying was the preferred method of preparation.     

CONSUMER EVALUATION OF PORK APPEARANCE WITH DIFFERING PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PACKAGING CONDITIONS

Consumers (n = 116) evaluated color (pink intensity), appearance (wet/dry), overall acceptability and purchase intent of normal, PSE and DFD pork loin slices in PVC and in vacuum packages. Packaging x muscle condition affected (p < 0.05) appearance, overall acceptability and consumer purchase intent of pork slices. Color differences were perceptible to consumers between packaging treatments. PVC-packaged pork was pinker than vacuum-packaged pork. Vacuum-packaged, PSE pork appeared drier than PVC-packaged PSE pork. Normal pork was more acceptable than PSE pork regardless of packaging. DFD pork acceptability was not different from that of normal pork when vacuum packaged. In general purchase intent paralleled consumer evaluation of overall acceptability. Instrumental color data and pH for samples evaluated are also presented.     

Acceptance and purchase intent of US consumers for nonwheat rice butter cakes

ABSTRACT:  This study evaluated consumer acceptance and purchase intent of nonwheat butter cake formulations prepared with Thai jasmine rice flour. Three nonwheat rice butter cakes were prepared with varying amounts of powdered emulsifier (propylene glycol ester:diacetyl tartaric acid ester of monoglyceride, 8:2) at 0% (product A), 7.5% (product B), and 15% (product C) of the margarine content (15%) in the cake formulation. A commercial wheat-based butter cake served as the control. Consumers ( n = 400) evaluated acceptability of 9 sensory attributes using a 9-point hedonic scale. Overall acceptance and purchase intent were determined with a binomial (yes/no) scale. At least 81% of consumers accepted products B and C, of which 42.1% and 47%, respectively, would purchase the products if commercially available. Product A was neither liked nor disliked with an overall liking score of 5.39. The butter cake products were differentiated by textural acceptability (overall texture, softness, and moistness) with a canonical correlation of 0.71 to 0.79. Overall liking and taste influenced overall acceptance and purchase intent. Odor influenced purchase intent ( P = 0.0014), but not overall acceptance. The odds ratio of overall liking was 3.462 for purchase intent, indicating the probability of the product being purchased is 3.462 times higher (than not being purchased, P < 0.0001) with every 1-unit increase of the overall liking score. Based on the logit model, overall acceptance and purchase intent could be predicted with 89.3% and 83.3% accuracy, respectively. The study demonstrated feasibility of completely substituting wheat flour with Thai jasmine rice flour for production of butter cake products acceptable to American consumers.     

A consumer test of bull vs steer beef

Previous studies of the acceptability of bull beef have relied on laboratory panel or mechanical tests. This study extends the assessment to a consumer panel who cooked and ate the conventionally prepared steaks in their own homes. The test showed consumers to distinguish bull steaks as leaner than steer steaks but not to discriminate on overall appearance. When it came to eating, however, bull steaks were judged to take longer to brown and be less satisfactory in terms of flavour, juiciness, tenderness and overall eating quality. On tenderness 11% of the sample marked the bull steaks as ?well below average’?. These results are sufficiently clear to suggest the need for a test of their commercial impact.     

Establishing tenderness thresholds of Venezuelan beef steaks using consumer and trained sensory panels

The tenderness thresholds for ribeye steaks at 2 d postmortem were found by using sensory trained (n = 734 steaks) and consumers panel data (55 ribeye steaks and 296 consumers). Also, consumers’ perceptions of sensory attributes of beef steaks were assessed to establish their relationships and to determine acceptability levels. The tenderness threshold obtained by regression analysis from trained panelists was 37.98 N (3.87 kg). Customer satisfaction of 81% was obtained when beef steaks had Warner-Bratzler shear force values (WBSF) less than 40.13 N (4.09 kg), suggesting that 40.13 N could be considered as a tenderness threshold to segregate tough from tender steaks, for Venezuelan beef consumers. According to correlation and regression analyses, consumers focused on flavor to assign their overall liking score. Results suggest that consumers are able to detect changes in tenderness of steaks with different WBSF and that flavor drives customer satisfaction when the beef tenderness is acceptable.     

Effect of End-point Temperature and Degree of Doneness on Sensory and Instrumental Flavor Profile of Beefsteaks

ABSTRACT: Beef M. longissimus thoracis et lumborum was used to investigate the effects of 6 end-point temperatures on flavor and texture. Steaks cooked to medium temperature were associated with 4-heptanolide, whereas those cooked to higher temperatures were associated with pyrazines and hexanol. These steaks were also associated with flavor attributes, such as roasted, burnt, and beefy. However, consumers did not find differences in flavor liking of steaks (P > 0.05) cooked to 6 end-point temperatures. Although steaks cooked to lower temperatures were liked for their tenderness and juiciness, overall liking scores were not affected by end-point temperature. Thus both flavor and tenderness play an important role in consumer satisfaction.