Adding Enzymes to Improve Beef Tenderness
Adding Enzymes to
Improve Beef Tenderness
By Chris R. Calkins, Ph.D. and Gary Sullivan, University of Nebraska
Importance of Beef Tenderness
Beef palatability is affected by many factors and tenderness is cited as one of the most important.
Consumers are willing to pay a premium for a guaranteed tender product with the potential to increase the value of the middle meats over $60 per carcass (Miller et al., 2001). Consequently, the meat industry is in a continual search for methods to improve the tenderness of the middle meats and upgrade other cuts and muscles to steak quality. This search for tender product not only adds value to the industry but can help to supply a more consistent and uniform product to consumers while increasing overall beef satisfaction.
Tenderness is a complex trait. Generally, the two primary structural features of muscle that influence tenderness are integrity of the myofibrils (termed the actomyosin effect) and the connective tissue contribution (termed a background effect). Fat also plays a minor role. Cover et al. (1962) identified six characteristics of perceived tenderness. Three characteristics relate to the myofibrillar portion, two relate to product adhesion, and the remaining one relates to connective tissue components. Myofibrillar proteins are located intracellularly while connective tissue proteins (primarily collagen) are located extracellularly.
This difference in distribution of key proteins within the muscle increases the challenge of improving tenderness. Stated simply, some muscles may lack palatability because of myofibrillar proteins while others may lack palatability because of the connective tissue proteins. A plausible tenderization strategy should target one or both of the main structural constraints to be successful.
Inherent Proteolytic Enzymes
The primary mechanism of postmortem improvement in tenderness is through the disruption of the native structure of the muscle. Of the methods identified as having a
Improve Beef Tenderness
By Chris R. Calkins, Ph.D. and Gary Sullivan, University of Nebraska
Importance of Beef Tenderness
Beef palatability is affected by many factors and tenderness is cited as one of the most important.
Consumers are willing to pay a premium for a guaranteed tender product with the potential to increase the value of the middle meats over $60 per carcass (Miller et al., 2001). Consequently, the meat industry is in a continual search for methods to improve the tenderness of the middle meats and upgrade other cuts and muscles to steak quality. This search for tender product not only adds value to the industry but can help to supply a more consistent and uniform product to consumers while increasing overall beef satisfaction.
Tenderness is a complex trait. Generally, the two primary structural features of muscle that influence tenderness are integrity of the myofibrils (termed the actomyosin effect) and the connective tissue contribution (termed a background effect). Fat also plays a minor role. Cover et al. (1962) identified six characteristics of perceived tenderness. Three characteristics relate to the myofibrillar portion, two relate to product adhesion, and the remaining one relates to connective tissue components. Myofibrillar proteins are located intracellularly while connective tissue proteins (primarily collagen) are located extracellularly.
This difference in distribution of key proteins within the muscle increases the challenge of improving tenderness. Stated simply, some muscles may lack palatability because of myofibrillar proteins while others may lack palatability because of the connective tissue proteins. A plausible tenderization strategy should target one or both of the main structural constraints to be successful.
Inherent Proteolytic Enzymes
The primary mechanism of postmortem improvement in tenderness is through the disruption of the native structure of the muscle. Of the methods identified as having a
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