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Beef! How Should You Cook It and How Do Consumers Prefer It?

Booth Id:
BE003

Category:
Chemistry

Year:
2014

Finalist Names:
Emerson, Case

Abstract:
Meat is cooked using a variety of methods to make certain it is safe to eat and is appetizing. The purpose of this continuation study experiment is to determine if palatability and shear force values for beef steaks cooked on a traditional indoor grill will differ from those cooked sous vide and finished (seared) on an indoor grill and consumer preference of each. A professional taste panel and a consumer/untrained panel will be asked to participate in a taste panel using meat prepared as above. It is anticipated that meat prepared sous vide will be the preferred method based on previous research. Each participant will score samples using a Likert Scale of 1-8 for juiciness, flavor, overall tenderness connective tissue, connective tissue (trained panel only) and off flavor. Averages will be calculated to compare to year one's data for both trained and consumer/untrained panelists. Both trained and consumer panelists found sous vide cooked steaks to be more tender (P < 0.05) than needle tenderized or control steaks. However, both trained and consumer panelists reported sous vide cooked steaks to be less juicy (P < 0.05) and trained panelists found sous vide steaks as less flavorful (P < 0.05) than needle tenderized or control steaks. Even so, consumers found no difference (P = 0.61) in overall palatability.