Hypoxanthine enhances the cured meat taste

• Published in: Animal science journal 2017-02, Vol.88 (2), p.379-385
• Main Authors: Ichimura, Sayaka, Nakamura, Yukinobu, Yoshida, Yuka, Hattori, Akihito
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenosine triphosphate; Adenosine Triphosphate - analysis; Amino acids; Amino Acids - analysis; ATP; cured meat taste; Dry matter; Food Handling - methods; Food Quality; Humans; Hypoxanthine; Hypoxanthine - analysis; Maturation; Meat; Meat - analysis; Meat Products - analysis; Meat quality; nitrite; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - analysis; Nitrogen compounds; Nitrogen Compounds - analysis; Original; Peptides; Peptides - analysis; sarcoplasmic fraction; sensory analysis; Sensory evaluation; Taste; Time Factors
• ISSN: 1344-3941; 1740-0929
• DOI: 10.1111/asj.12625

We evaluated the enhancement of cured meat taste during maturation by sensory analysis. We focused on the heat‐stable sarcoplasmic fraction (HSSF) to identify the factors related to cured meat taste. Because the dry matter of HSSF contained more than 30% nitrogen, nitrogen compounds such as free amino acids, small peptides and adenosine triphosphate‐related compounds seemed to be the important components of HSSF. The samples cured with HSSF for 2 h exhibited the same taste profile as ones cured without HSSF for 168 h. Therefore, the changes in the amount and fractions of nitrogen compounds were examined in HSSF during incubation from 0 to 168 h. The concentration of hypoxanthine (Hx) gradually increased, while inosine‐5′‐monophosphate decreased during the incubation. The samples cured with pickles containing various concentrations of Hx were subjected to sensory analysis. The addition of Hx, in a dose‐dependent fashion, enhanced cured meat taste by maturation for 2 h. It was concluded that Hx is essential for the enhancement of cured meat taste.