Browsing by Subject "mureutuminen"

Consumers have rated meat tenderness as one of the most important quality of the meat and they are ready to pay more for tender than tough meat. All tenderization methods have effect on meat myofibrillar structures and/or meat collagen. During tenderization myofibrillar structures fragmentate and collagen changes more soluble. According to earlier studies soy sauce contains enzymes which have proteinase activities. These enzymes are the metabolites of Aspergillus moulds which are added to soy sauce in the beginning of its fermentation process. The aim of this study was to examine if used soy sauces have tenderization effects on meat. Effects of soy sauces were tested by treating beef top loin slices with five different marinades. Marinades included two different soy sauces in two different concentrations. There was also one control marinade with salt and water. The measurements used in the study were pH, MFI (myofibrillar fragmentation index), percentage of soluble collagen of total collagen, cooking loss, loss during marinating and sensory evaluation. In sensory evaluation panellists evaluated meat tenderness, juiciness and taste with a 9-point scale. Percentage of soluble collagen of total collagen did not variate between treatments. Trend was that solubility increased in all but not in control samples when marinating time became longer. MFI values were slightly different between samples which were treated with different marinades. Based on the results of this thesis, soy sauce can be used in marinades for the purpose of tenderizing meat. Soy sauce included marinade does not have effect on taste and juiciness of the meat. Meat tenderness correlated positively with MFI value. There was also a positive correlation between meat tenderness and juiciness. MFI explained 28 % of the meat tenderness.