Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2024;64(25):9280-9310. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2023.2211671. Epub 2023 May 17.
The tenderness of meat influences consumers' perceptions of its quality. Meat tenderness is a key quality characteristic that influences consumer satisfaction, repeat purchases, and willingness to pay higher prices for meat. Muscle fibers, connective tissues, and adipocytes are the main structural components of meat that contribute to its tenderness and texture. In the present review, we have focused on the role of connective tissue and its components in meat tenderness, specifically perimysial intramuscular connective tissue (IMCT) and its concept as an immutable "background toughness." The collagen contribution to cooked meat toughness can be altered by animal diet, compensatory growth, slaughter age, aging, and cooking. As well, progressive thickening of the perimysium leads to a progressive increase in shear force values in beef, pork, chicken, and this may occur prior to adipocyte formation as cattle finish in feedlots. Conversely, adipocyte accumulation in the perimysium can decrease cooked meat shear force, suggesting that the contribution of IMCT to meat toughness is complex and driven by both collagen structure and content. This review provides a theoretical foundation of information to modify IMCT components to improve meat tenderness.
肉的嫩度会影响消费者对其品质的感知。肉的嫩度是影响消费者满意度、重复购买意愿和愿意为肉类支付更高价格的关键质量特征。肌肉纤维、结缔组织和脂肪细胞是影响肉质嫩度和口感的主要结构成分。在本综述中，我们重点关注了结缔组织及其成分在肉质嫩度中的作用，特别是肌间结缔组织（IMCT）及其作为不变的“背景韧性”的概念。动物饮食、补偿性生长、屠宰年龄、成熟和烹饪可以改变胶原蛋白对熟肉韧性的贡献。此外，随着牛在育肥场的育肥，肌间膜逐渐增厚，导致牛肉、猪肉、鸡肉的剪切力值逐渐增加，这可能发生在脂肪细胞形成之前。相反，脂肪细胞在肌间膜中的积累可以降低熟肉的剪切力，这表明 IMCT 对肉质韧性的贡献是复杂的，受到胶原蛋白结构和含量的共同驱动。本综述为修改 IMCT 成分以改善肉质嫩度提供了理论基础信息。
