SOME ASPECTS OF RAW MEAT TENDERNESS. A Study of Some Factors Affecting Its Change with Cooking and a New Means of Measurement

A hand‐operated biting instrument which is quick and simple to use was developed to investigate the possibility of assessing the tenderness of raw meat at the carcass or wholesale cut stage. Comparison with the Warner‐Bratzler shear device revealed an overall close relationship for cooked meat (r = 0.96, n = 66), greater response in terms of proportional change in readings per unit change in tenderness (P < 0.01) but a greater variability in a series of readings on meat cores from the same steaks (P < 0.001). Relationships between readings on raw and cooked samples were low. It is suggested that this may be due to the fact that the effects of cold shortening and aging on cooked meat tenderness are not apparent on the tenderness of raw meat. The response to cold shortening in terms of tenderness appears to develop as meat is heated from 50°C to 60°C while the response to aging is already partially developed at a cooking temperature of 50° C. It is concluded that although the instrument may be better than existing methods under some situations due to its simplicity, it is unlikely to be useful on raw meat