A comparison of dry and wet aging on physicochemical and sensory characteristics of pork loin with two aging times

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of aging methods (wet aging and dry aging) and aging times (7 and 14 days) on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of meat quality using pork loin. Dry-aged loin (DA) had significantly lower moisture content and higher crude fat protein content than wet-aged loin (WA). The pH of DA was significantly higher than that of WA and it increased with the aging time. DA showed lower cooking loss and higher aging loss than WA (p < 0.001). Lipid oxidation and metmyoglobin content of DA were higher than those of WA (p < 0.001). Shear force in DA was lower than that in WA (p < 0.001) and myofibril protein index (MFI) increased in DA. In addition, DA recorded higher scores of roast color, flavor and overall acceptability compared to WA. These results suggested that the application of dry-aging on pork improved physicochemical, textural and sensory characteristics.