Assessment of the Textural Quality of Meat Patties: Correlation of Instrumental and Sensory Attributes

Compression, shear, tensile and punch tests were used to assess the mechanical strength of a ground meat product and discriminate between effects of various treatments on this type of product. These measurements, together with chemical and moisture retention measurements, were related to sensory attributes of the cooked products. Most of the sensory textural attributes were satisfactorily (i.e., about 80% of the variance) explained or described by a combination of Warner‐Bratzler shear parameters and certain compression measurements. Principal co‐ordinate analysis showed that tensile measurements related better to sensory greasiness and juiciness than to mechanical strength. Methods for measuring juiciness were not adequate and indicated the need for further investigation.