Mizunoya Wataru, Hayashi Nanami, Kataoka Asuka, Nishikawa Hinako, Todoroki Minori, Kase Chihiro, Takeda Shiro
Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Sagamihara 252-5201, Japan.
Foods. 2025 Jun 23;14(13):2191. doi: 10.3390/foods14132191.
Consumers often demonstrate an intrinsic aversion to unfamiliar foods referred to as food neophobia. Wild raccoon () meat represents such an unfamiliar food, both globally and within Japan. Providing information on the flavor of raccoon meat may help to alleviate consumer apprehension. Here, we employed the Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) sensory evaluation method to delineate its flavor profile. Ground meat samples of beef, pork, chicken, lamb, tuna, frog, venison, and raccoon were prepared using a food processor. The meat colors exhibited marked variation, with raccoon meat characterized by its notably high redness and low lightness. All meat samples were steam-cooked for 15 min prior to evaluation. Sensory assessment was conducted using the CATA method, wherein 17 Japanese panelists selected among 27 descriptors for flavor/taste and texture. The collected data were analyzed through correspondence analysis, revealing that raccoon meat was primarily characterized by the descriptors "having aftertaste," "rich," "difficult to swallow," "lamb/mutton-like," "gamey," and "quirky," indicating a sensory profile closely resembling that of lamb among the evaluated livestock meats. Thus, the CATA method could be effective in characterizing the flavor profile of raccoon meat, highlighting its similarity to lamb and presenting a viable strategy to familiarize consumers with this unconventional protein source.
消费者通常对不熟悉的食物表现出一种内在的厌恶，即食物新恐惧症。野生浣熊肉在全球范围内以及在日本国内都是一种不熟悉的食物。提供有关浣熊肉味道的信息可能有助于减轻消费者的担忧。在此，我们采用了复选（CATA）感官评价方法来描绘其风味特征。使用食品加工机准备牛肉、猪肉、鸡肉、羊肉、金枪鱼、青蛙、鹿肉和浣熊的绞肉样本。肉的颜色呈现出明显的差异，浣熊肉的特点是其红色度显著较高而亮度较低。在评估之前，所有肉样本都蒸制15分钟。使用CATA方法进行感官评估，其中17名日本小组成员从27个关于风味/味道和质地的描述词中进行选择。通过对应分析对收集到的数据进行分析，结果表明浣熊肉的主要特征描述词为“有回味”“浓郁”“难吞咽”“类似羊肉”“有野味”和“奇特”，这表明在评估的家畜肉类中，其感官特征与羊肉非常相似。因此，CATA方法可能有效地描绘浣熊肉的风味特征，突出其与羊肉的相似性，并为让消费者熟悉这种非常规蛋白质来源提供了一种可行的策略。
