Relationship between instrumental and sensory texture profile of beef semitendinosus muscles with different textures

Texture of meat is a critical factor in oral processing and bolus formation, especially for people suffering from dysphagia. The present study evaluated and compared the texture changes of beef semitendinosus muscles upon cooking, using sensory panelists and instrumental texture profile analysis. Cooking losses were also estimated. The correlation between instrumental and sensory parameters were established. Training with sensory texture profile enabled panelists to clearly identify and describe meat textural attributes except cohesiveness and springiness. Increased cooking temperature (65-85°C) and time (30-60 min) significantly (p < .05) increased hardness, chewiness, and cook loss of beef whereas adhesiveness and juiciness decreased significantly. The correlation data showed significant positive correlations between instrumental and sensory hardness, chewiness, and adhesiveness and poor correlations between cohesiveness and springiness. Results show that the texture profile analyzer has a possibility to replace sensory analysis for hardness, chewiness, and adhesiveness; however, future work is needed to address cohesiveness and springiness of meat.