Firewood as a tool to valorize meat: A sensory and instrumental approach to grilled veal, lamb, and pork meat

• Published in: Food research international 2024-09, Vol.192, p.114719, Article 114719
• Main Authors: Piochi, Maria, Nervo, Chiara, Savo, Francesca, Chirilli, Chiara, Brunori, Antonio, Torri, Luisa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Animals; Beech firewood; Consumer Behavior; Consumers; cooked foods; Cooking - methods; Electronic Nose; Fagus; Female; flavor; Food Preferences; food preparation; food research; fuelwood; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Herbaceous; Humans; Liking; Male; Meat - analysis; microextraction; Middle Aged; Odorants - analysis; Olea - chemistry; Olive firewood; olives; Perception; pork; Pork Meat - analysis; Preference; questionnaires; Red Meat - analysis; Roasted; sensory evaluation; Sensory valorization; Sheep; Solid Phase Microextraction - methods; species; SPME-GC/MS; Sustainability certification; Swine; Taste; veal; vegetables; volatile organic compounds; Volatile Organic Compounds - analysis; Wood - chemistry; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0963-9969; 1873-7145; 1873-7145
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114719

[Display omitted] •The wood species significantly affected the perception of a few crucial attributes.•Olive wood increased the ‘roasted meat’ sensation in lamb and veal.•Beech wood increased the ‘vegetable/herbaceous’ sensation in veal.•Beech wood released higher concentrations of most VOCs in all meats.•Grilling with different woods did not affect liking and preference of any meat type. Two firewood species (beech and olive) were used for grilling three meat types (lamb, pork, and veal) to assess their influence on the sensorial properties of meat. A multimethod approach was adopted, including sensory evaluation with consumers and two analytical techniques to characterize the volatile fraction (Solid-Phase Micro-Extraction Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry [SPME-GC/MS] and electronic nose [e-nose]). The sensory session included three pairwise preference tests (one for each type of meat), an overall liking test, a Rate-All-That-Apply test, and a questionnaire on the interest and perceived value of using sustainably certified firewood in food preparation. The firewood species significantly affected the perception of a few crucial attributes. In particular, olive wood increased the roasted meat flavor perception in lamb and veal, while beech wood increased the perceived intensity of a vegetable/herbaceous flavor in veal. No effect of firewood was observed on preference within each pair of meat samples. Lamb was the significantly most liked meat by consumers, followed by pork; veal was the least liked meat type. Positive and negative drivers of preference were discussed. 36 volatile organic compounds were identified from SPME-GC/MS in meats. Congruently with sensory data, the two veal samples showed a greater distance in terms of volatile composition. Relative distances among samples on maps obtained from SPME-GC/MS and the e-nose were similar. This multi-method approach innovatively showed the potential of using firewood as a ‘gastronomic’ tool to sensorially characterize and valorize cooked meat.