Aqueous apple flavoring in breast muscle has physical, chemical, and sensory properties similar to those of phosphate-marinated controls.

Marinades containing 0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2% apple flavoring were examined to determine the effect of an aqueous apple flavoring on the quality and sensory characteristics of boneless, skinless chicken breast. Marinade pickup and purge loss increased significantly with an increase of apple flavoring in marinades. Incorporation of apple flavoring in the marinades did not affect cook loss of the treatments, except for breast marinated in 1.2% apple flavor, which had higher cook loss. Apple flavoring did not affect final product yield of marinated breast. Shear values were similar for all treatments except marinades with 0.8% apple flavoring, which had lower shear values. Participants detected increases in fruity flavor with an increase of apple flavoring in the marinade. Products containing no apple flavoring were rated as "like moderately" to "like slightly." Products with 0.4% apple flavoring were rated "like slightly," and degree of liking declined to "neither like nor dislike" as apple flavoring increased. Incorporation of acceptable levels of apple flavoring is limited to 0.4%.