The effect of different types of pasture on the organoleptic qualities of lambs

The palatability characteristics of carcasses of lambs grazed on either pure perennial ryegrass or Pure lucerne were studied in three experiments. Consumer preferences were ascertained in two experiments with untrained members of the public who scored the meat for flavour, tenderness and juiciness. The type of pasture had no significant effect on the palatability characteristics examined but the shoulder joints were significantly more juicy than the legs. In a third experiment, members of a trained taste punel were able to detect a significantly more intense flavour and odour from the casseroled twelfth rib chop of lucerne-grazed lambs than that from lambs grazed on perennial ryegrass. Since the results from the consumer acceptance tests and the trained taste panel were inconsistent, it is concluded that both methods of assessing palatability should be carried out concurrently in any evaluation of meat quality.     

The effect of supplementation of a white clover or perennial ryegrass diet with grape seed extract on indole and skatole metabolism and the sensory characteristics of lamb

Condensed tannin in the form of a grape seed extract (GSE) was dosed to weaned wether lambs fed white clover (WC) or perennial ryegrass (PRG) over a 9‐week period to determine whether the ‘pastoral’ flavour and odour of meat could be altered. The concentrations of the pastoral flavour compounds indole and skatole were determined in the rumen fluid, blood plasma and intermuscular fat. The odour and flavour of fat and meat from the slaughtered lambs was assessed by a trained panel. The rumen fluid and blood plasma concentrations of indole and skatole were higher in those lambs fed WC compared to PRG (P < 0.05) and the overall meat flavour intensity was greater when feeding WC (P < 0.01). The observed concentration of indole and skatole in the fat between WC and PRG feeding treatments was not statistically different. Power analysis indicated that increasing the number of lambs per treatment group from 20 to 65 would result in a higher fat skatole concentration (P < 0.05) being detected in lambs fed WC compared to PRG. Dosing with GSE gave a small reduction in skatole concentration in the rumen fluid and reduced plasma concentration of indole and skatole (P < 0.001). Odour and flavour scores of the fat and meat samples were not particularly high however, dosing with GSE lowered the overall and sweet odour and the sheepy, camphor, faecal and barnyard flavour (P < 0.05). Although the plasma concentration of indole and skatole suggests that GSE reduced indole and skatole formation, the intermittent supply of the GSE to the rumen environment was not sufficient to reduce their concentration in the fat. Hence, the small difference in the scores for pastoral odour and flavour attributes associated with GSE treatment may arise from other unknown factors. From a primary investigation, there was no difference in the concentration of indole and skatole in fat samples collected from carcasses before and after chilling. Further investigations into meat pastoral flavour are warranted through feeding condensed tannin‐containing forages. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Influence of fresh alfalfa supplementation on fat skatole and indole concentration and chop odour and flavour in lambs grazing a cocksfoot pasture

We investigated the influence of the level of fresh alfalfa supplementation on fat skatole and indole concentration and chop sensory attributes in grazing lambs. Four groups of nine male Romane lambs grazing a cocksfoot pasture were supplemented with various levels of alfalfa for at least 60 days before slaughter. Perirenal fat skatole concentration was higher for lambs that consumed alfalfa than for those that consumed only cocksfoot. The intensity of ‘animal’ odour in the lean part of the chop and of ‘animal’ flavour in both the lean and fat parts of the chop, evaluated by a trained sensory panel, increased from the lowest level of alfalfa supplementation onwards and did not increase further with increasing levels of alfalfa supplementation. The outcome of this study therefore suggests that these sensory attributes may reach a plateau when perirenal fat skatole concentration is in the range 0.16–0.24 μg/g of liquid fat.     

Associations of sire estimated breeding values and objective meat quality measurements with sensory scores in Australian lamb

The impact of selecting for lean meat yield using breeding values for increased eye muscle depth (PEMD) and decreased fat depth (PFAT) on the consumer acceptance of lamb meat was evaluated. Consumer sensory scores (tenderness, juiciness, flavour, odour, overall liking) were obtained for the longissimus lumborum (loin) and semimembranosus (topside) muscles of 1471 lambs. On average loin samples were more acceptable for consumers. Sensory scores increased with higher IMF levels, with lower shear force levels, and when animals were younger and less muscular. Increasing PEMD decreased tenderness, overall liking and flavour scores in both muscles, and decreasing PFAT reduced tenderness within the loin samples only. This negative impact of PEMD and PFAT is not solely driven through the phenotypic impact of IMF and shear force on sensory scores. Our results confirm the growing concerns that selecting for lean meat yield would reduce consumer eating quality, and highlight that careful monitoring of selection programmes is needed to maintain lamb eating quality.     

Diet and growth effects in panel assessment of sheepmeat odour and flavour

The effects of sheep age and diet on several odours and flavours are described. Ram lambs raised on ewe's milk then a corn-based diet were compared with lambs raised on milk and a pasture of grass/clover, six treatments in all. A seventh treatment comprised very old ewes maintained on pasture. Fat and lean from forequarters was minced and cooked together. Cooked lean was assessed for intensity by a sensory panel for 10 flavour attributes. Four showed significant (P < 0.01) treatment effects: 'sheepmeat', 'animal', 'liver', and 'poultry'. Sheepmeat flavour was highest in the slow-grown pasture-fed lambs. Animal flavour-the flavour associated with the odour of confined livestock-showed a similar pattern with treatment. Liver flavour was highest in ewe meat, and the biochemical origin of this flavour is discussed. Eleven related odour attributes were assessed on the rendered fat with a novel olfactometer. Five attributes showed highly significant treatment effects for intensity (P < 0.001): animal and sheepmeat odours showed a similar distribution to the equivalent flavours; likewise cabbage and rancid odours were associated with the two slow-grown pasture treatments. A comparison of the odour and flavour statistics showed that the sense of smell was the more discriminating in sheepmeat assessment, and also confirmed that fat was the true source of sheepmeat odour/flavour. In respect of sheepmeat production for effective marketing, the data showed that at 90 days, a pastoral diet resulted in slightly enhanced odours when compared with a corn-based diet. By 215 days, however, many undesirable odours were exacerbated. Since these older rams were more sexually developed, a sex rather than an age effect could not be excluded. Rendered fat from this work was further used in a companion study (Yang et al., 1997. Meat Sci., 45, 183-200) in an attempt to link individual volatile compounds to odour attributes.     

TENDERNESS VARIATION IN OVINE LONGISSIMUS MUSCLE

31 lamb carcasses were split after slaughter and one side of each had pre-rigor tension applied to the longissimus muscle by weighted or mechanical methods. Warner-Bratzler shear values were obtained on each of three core positions within rib and within loin chop samples from each nontensioned and tensioned side. Differences in shear values between cores were significant (P < 0.001), and the interactions of muscle location, tension treatment and core were also significant (P < 0.001). The lateral position was the least tender in rib chops while the dorsal position was least tender in loin chops of the nontensioned sides. Pre-rigor tension made core positions more uniform in tenderness in the rib chops, while considerable tenderness variation persisted in tensioned loin chops.     

Prediction of lamb meat eating quality in two divergent breeds using various live animal and carcass measurements

This study investigated how accurately taste panel sensory assessments of meat eating quality (MEQ) could be predicted in two divergent lamb breeds, using predictors measured in live animals (weights, subjective conformation assessments, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and video image analysis measurements) and carcasses (weights, MLC fat and conformation classes, pH, temperature, carcass dimensions and cross-sectional tissue dimensions), individually and in optimal combinations. Grilled muscle samples from the pelvic limb (semimembranosus) and loin (Longissimus lumborum) of 120 Texel (TEX) and 112 Scottish Blackface (SBF) lambs were assessed by a trained taste panel for texture, juiciness, flavour, abnormal flavour and overall liking. Residual correlations (adjusted for fixed effects, age and sire) between MEQ and predictor traits were low to moderate in size (<±0.42). MEQ traits predicted best by single measurements were loin flavour and overall liking for TEX (using fat area in a CT scan or subcutaneous fat depth measured post-mortem), and for SBF were leg texture (using carcass weight or temperature) and juiciness (using CT fat area or shoulder conformation score). Combining live animal and carcass measurements increased MEQ prediction accuracies, compared with using either set alone, to explain >40% of residual variation in several MEQ traits, with the highest adjusted R² values for leg juiciness in TEX (0.53) and leg texture in SBF (0.59). The most useful predictors of MEQ depended on breed, with measurements of fatness generally more important in the lean breed and carcass size and muscling more important in the fatter breed.     

The Effects of Freezing, Frozen Storage Conditions and Degree of Doneness on Lamb Palatability Characteristics

SUMMARY— Comparisons involving fresh versus frozen chops and roasts from 190 lamb carcasses indicated significant though nonconformable treatment effects on cooked-sample palatability characteristics. Freezing resulted in a highly significant increase in shear force values for loin chops and highly significant decreases in flavor, tenderness and overall satisfaction scores for leg roasts. Freezing rib chops, in contrast to the results for loin chops and leg roasts, resulted in a highly significant decrease in shear force values indicating an increase in tenderness as the result of freezing. Several possible explanations concerning these contradictory findings are suggested and discussed. In other paired-chop comparisons, higher final cooking temperatures resulted in increased shear force values for rib chops; wrapping samples prior to freezing appeared to have little effect on chop tenderness comparisons. In all comparisons, variance ratios between chops treated differently were not significantly altered.     

Meat quality of cryptorchid lambs grazing either dryland or irrigated perennial pasture with some silage supplementation

The meat quality of lambs grazed on perennial pasture (ryegrass Lolium perenne, cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata and white clover Trifolium repens) was examined in three treatments; group 1 (S) lambs were grazed on dryland pasture for 30 days and then offered a supplement of pasture silage ad libitum until slaughter, 30 days later (n = 21). Lambs in group 2 (P) were grazed on dryland pasture throughout (n = 28) and those in group 3 (IP) on irrigated pasture (n = 28). Lambs in group IP had a significantly (p < 0.001) heavier pre-slaughter liveweight and hot carcass weight than lambs in the other two groups. There was no significant difference (p < 0.05) infatscore between groups or in GR when adjusted to a common carcass weight. For cold carcass weight (reduced sample) IP lambs were still significantly heavier than those from group P, but no different to those from group S (n = 15, 15 and 10, respectively). There was no significant difference between groups for measures of fatness or for m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LL) area when adjusted to a common carcass weight of 23.6 kg. There was a significant difference between (p < 0.001) treatments for pH, group P carcasses having higher pH values for the LL muscle, with no treatment effect on m. semimembranosus (SM) pH. Differences between groups for meat colour values (L (?), a (?), b (?)) showed no consistent trend and there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between groups in tenderness of the LL and SM muscles as indicated by shear force values. Aroma of the loin meat from pasture-fed lambs (P) was considered significantly (p < 0.05) stronger than from lambs in groups S and IP (n = 6, all groups) and the flavour of samples from lambs in group P was significantly (p < 0.05) stronger than from lambs in group IP. Overall there was no significant (p < 0.05) difference in acceptability between groups. The results indicate that consumers would be unlikely to detect the differences identified by the panel and that pasture silage will not have an adverse effect on lamb eating quality.     

Meat quality of mixed sex lambs grazing pasture and supplemented with, roughage, oats or oats and sunflower meal

The meat quality of 8-9-month-old cryptorchid, wether and ewe lambs (Poll Dorset×Border Leicester×Merino) was assessed. These lambs were grazed over summer and autumn from weaning (November) on lucerne (Medicago sativa) or ryegrass/clover (Lolium rigidum/trifolium subterranean) pasture at two locations (A or B). After 72 days lambs grazed on lucerne were supplemented with either ad lib clover hay or clover silage. Those grazed on the ryegrass/clover pasture were supplemented from weaning with either oat grain (400-600 g/h day and clover hay ad lib) or oat grain (200-400 g/h day) plus sunflower seed meal (200 g/h day) and clover hay ad lib. Lambs were slaughtered in April and May after they reached 48 kg liveweight. Lambs supplemented solely with roughage produced muscle (m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum; LTL) with a higher (P<0.05) pH, but there was no effect of nutrition or sex on meat colour or tenderness. Slaughter day affected tenderness of the topside (m. semimembranosus). Assessment of aroma, flavour and acceptability was undertaken on the m. biceps femoris from wether and cryptorchid lambs using an experienced taste panel. There was no clear effect of sex or nutrition on the assessment of the sensory attributes. However, panellists considered meat from cryptorchid lambs fed the oats/sunflower supplement and grazed at location B, to have a stronger aroma and flavour (P<0.05) and in some cases to be less acceptable than meat from other combinations of sex, diet and location. The most acceptable meat came from lambs supplemented with oats, irrespective of sex or location. As such, these effects could not be attributed solely to either the diet or sex, but suggest there are conditions where meat from cryptorchids can be less acceptable.     

Breed and maturity effects on Churra Galega Bragançana and Suffolk lamb carcass characteristics: Killing-out proportion and composition

The aim of this work was to study the carcass killing-out proportions and carcass composition of Churra Galega Bragançana (CGB) and Suffolk sheep at 20%, 25%, 30% and 35% of maturity. Forty-eight male lambs were used, 24 CGB and 24 Suffolks from the Bragança’s School of Agriculture sheep flock. Suffolk lambs had greater proportions of leg, shoulder and breast joints, but lower proportions of rib, anterior rib and neck joints. Increasing maturity caused a significant decrease in leg and shoulder proportions and an increase in chump proportion. Suffolk lambs had significantly greater muscle and significantly less subcutaneous fat and kidney and pelvic fat percentages than CGB lambs. With the increase of maturity, a significant increase in intermuscular fat and a significant decrease in bone proportion were observed. It was concluded that, under the management conditions of this work, Suffolks were preferred for meat production, since at a comparable stage of maturity they had greater proportions of expensive cuts and greater carcass lean percentage.     

The use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to estimate the dissected composition of lamb carcasses

A total of 140 male and female Dorset and Suffolk lambs were slaughtered according to four live weight classes (36-39kg, 41-44kg, 46-49kg and 51-54kg). Total tissue, fat and lean masses, and bone mineral content measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were used to predict dissected tissue weights. The DXA total weights accurately predict half-carcasses and primal cuts weights (shoulder, leg, loin and flank) (R(2)>0.99, CVe<1.3%). The prediction of the half-carcass dissected fat percentage is weaker (R(2)=0.77, CVe=10.4%). Fatness prediction accuracy is equivalent for the shoulder, leg and loin (R(2) between 0.68 and 0.78, CVe between 10% and 13%). The R(2) obtained when predicting dissected lean content from DXA variables is 0.93 for the half-carcass and higher than 0.83 for all cuts other than flank (CVe are between 3.5% and 6.5%, except for the flank, which is 9.1%). The prediction of bone weight using the bone mineral content is not very accurate for the half-carcass, shoulder and leg (R(2): 0.48, 0.47 and 0.43; CVe: 10.2%, 12.0% and 11.6%, respectively). The situation improves, however, for the loin (R(2)=0.70, CVe=10.7%). In conclusion, DXA is an effective technology for predicting total weight and the amount of lean and fat in lamb carcasses and their primal cuts.     

Nutritional and sensory aspects of light lamb meat enriched in n−3 fatty acids during refrigerated storage

Fatty acid content and sensory characteristics of meat from light lambs fed three diets supplemented with different sources of n−3 fatty acids (fish oil, extruded linseed and extruded linseed plus microalgae) and a control diet during refrigerated storage have been studied. The meat from lambs fed linseed diets had the highest levels of C18:3 n−3, while animals fed fish oil had the highest long-chain n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Thus, 100 g of meat from lamb fed the fish oil diet provided 183 mg of long-chain n−3 PUFA, representing 40% of the daily recommended intake. The levels of n−3, n−6 and long-chain n−3 PUFA decreased during a 7-day storage period. The meat from lambs fed the fish oil diet had high scores of fish odour and flavour and rancid odour and flavour and the lowest overall liking. Rancid odour and flavour increased after storage, mainly in supplemented groups.     

Factors influencing frozen display life of lamb chops and steaks: Effect of packaging and temperature

Frozen lamb loin and rib chops and leg steaks were wrapped in film of high oxygen permeability or vacuum packaged in film of low oxygen permeability and stored in the dark at -10, -20 or -35°C for periods from 0-20 weeks. After storage, the wrapped cuts were displayed in an open-top cabinet operating at -20°C under continuous fluorescent lighting (Philips Deluxe 32°). Cuts were evaluated by a trained colour panel to determine acceptable display life, and chop lean colour was evaluated using a Hunter colorimeter. Cuts wrapped in oxygen permeable film had better colour retention during storage and display. Storage of the frozen chops reduced the display life, with the largest effect occurring during the first 4-5 weeks' storage. Cuts stored at -10°C had no display life after 10 weeks' storage, whereas cuts stored at -20 and -35°C had some acceptable display life even after the longest storage period tested. Rib chops in general had better colour stability than loin chops.     

Protein extraction from pasture: Effect of crop species and of a reducing agent on the quality of extracted protein

Leaf protein concentrations (LPC) were prepared from herbage harvested from pure stands of ryegrass (Lolium perenne), white clover (Trifolium repeens), lucerne (Medicago sativa cv. Wairau) and from a stand of ryegrass/white clover dominant pasture: each crop was processed with and without the addition of sodium metabisulphite just prior to pulping. Protein quality was measured by rat growth and in-vivo rat true digestibility. Juice protein composition was measured and was related to chemically available lysine and protein true digestibility. Protein in ryegrass LPC had a lower digestibility (72%) than that from white clover (81%) or lucerne (78%), due to a higher proportion of the juice true protein being from the chloroplastic fraction for ryegrass (73%) compared with the two legumes (49–56%). The chloroplastic fraction is of inherently lower digestibility than the cytoplasmic fraction. Metabisulphite treatment at pulping caused a small but consistent increase of chemically available lysine in the LPC, and also improved chemically available methionine and protein utilisation for growth. Effects on protein true digestibility were inconsistent. When LPC was fed with a methionine supplement, the efficiency of utilisation of protein for growth did not differ amongst the four crops. This occurred despite the true digestibility of protein on LPC being higher for the legumes than for ryegrass and ryegrass/white clover.     

Characterisation of young bulls of the Bruna dels Pirineus cattle breed (selected from old Brown Swiss) in relation to carcass, meat quality and biochemical traits

Seventy-four young bulls of the Bruna dels Pirineus beef cattle breed were reared in a typical production system and slaughtered at an average age of 381 days and live weight of 541 kg. The animals were evaluated for productive traits, carcass quality, meat quality, eating quality and biochemical characteristics of m. longissimus thoracis (LT). Biochemical measurements included intramuscular fat (IMF) and collagen proportion, haem pigment concentration, lactate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase activities and type I (MHC I) fibre percentage determined by ELISA. Bruna dels Pirineus bulls achieved high growth rates during the fattening period (1.63 kg/day) and showed good carcass quality, with a high dressing-out proportion (607 g/kg, hot carcass), a good conformation score (U; EUROP) and a moderate fatness score (3;1-5). Carcass composition was estimated from the sixth rib joint dissection (682 g/kg lean proportion, 127 g/kg total dissectable fat and 163 g/kg bone). IMF (24.3 g/kg) and MHC I (27.9%) showed high variabilities (CV>30%). Sensory analysis of LT included beef and livery odour and flavour intensity, and overall tenderness and juiciness assessment of loin samples (14-day ageing). Beef odour and flavour were slightly positively correlated with IMF and carcass fatness score (P<0.05). Fatness, MHC I, insoluble collagen and cooking losses tended to affect the livery flavour intensity positively. This variable was significantly higher in meat from bulls of lower carcass quality (i.e. lower conformation score, lower lean proportion; P<0.05) and higher type I fibre percentage. Loin overall tenderness and juiciness were not affected by the biochemical traits studied, however, they were negatively affected by cooking loss (P<0.05).     

Digestibility and clover proportion determine milk production when silages of different grass and clover species are fed to dairy cows

This study examined how silages of different grass and clover species affect dry matter (DM) intake, milk production, and eating behavior in dairy cows. The primary growth of perennial ryegrass (early and late harvested), festulolium, tall fescue, red clover, and white clover swards were cut, wilted, and ensiled without additives. Thirty-six Danish Holstein cows were fed ad libitum with total mixed rations containing 70% forage on DM basis in an incomplete Latin square design. The forage source was either 1 of the 6 pure silages or late perennial ryegrass silage mixed (50:50 on DM basis) with either red clover or white clover silage. Intake of DM, milk yield, and milk lactose concentration were higher, whereas milk fat and protein concentrations were lower when cows were fed clover compared with grass. No differences in DM intake and milk composition were detected between cows fed red clover and white clover, but white clover resulted in higher milk yield than red clover. Lower body weight, probably caused by lower rumen fill, in cows fed pure white clover compared with the other treatments indicated that intake was regulated physiologically instead of physically. Cows fed early perennial ryegrass, which had the highest silage organic matter digestibility (OMD), did not produce the expected amount of energy-corrected milk (ECM) compared with the other treatments based on the amount of OM digested in the gastrointestinal tract, but the reason was unclear. Across all other grass species, ECM was related to OMD. Inclusion of 50% clover in the diet increased ECM with 2.3 kg/d, and the response to OMD was comparable to the response for the grass silages. In situ fiber degradation profile parameters indicated that fiber in festulolium differed compared with fiber in the other grass species and resembled fiber in clover. Drinking and eating behavior differed markedly in cows fed pure white clover compared with the other treatments. Water intake per drinking bout was comparable among treatments, but cows fed pure white clover had higher drinking bout duration and reduced drinking rate. Additionally, meal size was smaller for cows fed pure white clover compared with the other treatments, for which meal size was similar. In conclusion, differences in ECM between different grass species can be explained by differences in OMD, and at a given OMD level inclusion of clover in the diet increased ECM.     

Nitrogen,sulphur and other mineral elements in white clover and perennial ryegrass grown in mixed swards,with and without fertiliser N,at a range of sites in the UK

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. cv. S23) and white clover (Trifolium repens L. cv. Blanca) were grown in mixed swards, with and without fertiliser N as ammonium nitrate, at 12 sites in the UK. Grass and clover separated from herbage harvested in May, July and September, have been examined for N, S and other major mineral elements, in relation to the nutrition of both the crop and ruminant animals. The total N content was greater in the clover than in ryegrass at each site, both with and without fertiliser N. The S content of the clover was similar to that of ryegrass at the first harvest in May, but was lower in July and September. There were large differences between the species in the ratio N:S, the average being 17.1:1 in white clover and 8.6:1 in ryegrass. The proportions of the total S present as sulphate were higher in ryegrass, with a mean of 48%, than in the clover, with a mean of 16%. The contents of Mg, and particularly of Ca, were higher in clover, while K was generally higher in ryegrass. Consequently, the ratio K: (Ca+Mg) was always at least twice as high in the ryegrass as in the clover. In some of the ryegrass, but none of the clover samples, it exceeded 2.2:1, the value above which there is an increasing risk of hypomagnesaemia in ruminant animals. The content of total cations (Ca + Mg + K + Na) was on average 37% greater in the clover than in the ryegrass, while the content of total inorganic anions (but including organic P) was much less in the clover. The content of organic anions, as calculated from the difference between the contents of total cations and inorganic anions, was at least twice as great in white clover as in ryegrass.     

IN-HOME CONSUMER EVALUATIONS OF FOUR LAMB RETAIL CUTS

An in-home lamb study evaluated ratings from lamb consumers as influenced by cut (blade chop, rib chop, loin chop or leg chop), preparation method (indoor/outdoor grill, broil/oven roasted, pan-broil/pan-fry or other), and degree of doneness (medium rare or less, medium, medium well or more). Consumers in Dallas and Houston, Texas (n = 60 households) evaluated each cut for Overall-like (OLIKE), Tenderness (TEND), Juiciness (JUIC), Flavor Intensity (IFLAV), and Flavor Desirability (DFLAV) using 10-point scales (10 = extreme like, extremely tender, extremely juicy, extremely intense, and extremely desirable; 1 = extreme dislike, extremely tough, extremely dry, extremely bland, and extremely undesirable). No two-way or three-way interactions were observed between cut, preparation method and degree of doneness. Type of cut influenced (P < 0.05) palatability as consumers gave rib and loin chops higher ratings than chops from the blade or leg for OLIKE, TEND, JUIC, and DFLAV. Preparation method tended (P = 0.0565) to influence IFLAV with pan-broiled/pan-fried chops receiving higher ratings than grilled chops or chops cooked using "other" methods. Degree of doneness affected (P < 0.05) JUIC and tended (P = 0.0639) to affect TEND with chops that were cooked to lower degrees of doneness rated higher. Correlation data showed that OLIKE was highly correlated with TEND (r = 0.82), DFLAV (r = 0.82), and JUIC (r = 0.76), but did not have a strong relationship with IFLAV (r = 0.25). This information provides some insight into factors driving consumer evaluations of lamb.     

Muscularity and eating quality of lambs: Effects of breed, sex and selection of sires using muscularity measurements by computed tomography

Differences in muscularity of the hind leg (HL) and lumbar region (LR) were investigated between sexes (ram vs ewe lambs), breeds (Scottish Blackface, SBF vs Texel, TEX) and progeny of high- and low-muscularity sires (HM, LM) (n=471). The influence of these factors on meat eating quality (MEQ) was also examined (n=229). TEX lambs had 16% greater muscularity than SBF in both regions, whilst differences between sire groups were 4%. Ewe lambs had slightly higher values of muscularity for the HL than rams, but values were similar for the LR. Meat from SBF lambs had higher tenderness, stronger lamb flavour and higher overall liking than TEX meat. Sex had a weak influence with ram lambs having a stronger abnormal flavour and lower overall liking in the LR only. No significant differences in MEQ were found between HM- and LM-sired lambs, suggesting that improvements in muscularity would not have unfavourable effects on MEQ.