Changes in nucleotide compounds, and chemical and sensory qualities of duck meat during aging at 0°C

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify appropriate aging conditions, changes in nucleotide-related compounds, chemical changes, and a sensory evaluation of duck meat during aging at 0°C for 7 d. Twenty one 45-day-old Pekin white ducks samples were separated into breast and leg meat. ATP was not detected for almost the entire aging period because ATP was depleted immediately after slaughter. Inosine monophosphate (IMP) was highest on day 1 (26.69 μmol/g), and then it rapidly decreased to 7.11 ?mol/g on day 7. However, this level was not different between breast and leg meat. Hypoxanthine (Hx) content of breast meat was 14.88 ?mol/g, whereas that of leg meat was 16.41 μmol/g. Inosine content of breast meat was double than that of leg meat. The pH values of breast and leg meat were 5.90-6.05 and 6.23-6.73, respectively, during the aging period. Volatile basic nitrogen content of breast and leg meat increased during aging. Breast meat had good sensory evaluation scores for flavor (7.4), juiciness (6.8), tenderness (7.2), and overall acceptance (7.4) on day 3. Similar to breast meat, leg meat also had good sensory evaluation scores. Therefore, it is concluded that the appropriate aging period is 3 d for duck breast meat and 1 day for leg meat at 0°C.