Effect of Time and Temperature on Sensory Properties in Low-Temperature Long-TimeSous-VideCooking of Beef

Slices of beef eye of round were sous-vide cooked for 3, 6, 9, and 12 hours at 56, 58, and 60°C. The results showed that descriptors from a sensory descriptive analysis were divided into two groups based on response to heat treatment. In one group (12 descriptors including juiciness), the intensity of the descriptors increased (or decreased) with both time and temperature. In the other (6 descriptors including tenderness), the intensity increased with temperature but decreased with time (or decreased with temperature but increased with time). The sensory properties of the cooked beef corresponding to the descriptors in the two groups can consequently not be optimized simultaneously, and a compromise between, for example, tenderness and juiciness, is necessary.