Quantitative evaluation of meat tenderness by penetration method of Texture Analyzer

On the purpose of searching the quantitative evaluation method for meat tenderness, selecting different parts of pork and beef as materials, the penetration curves of meat were determined by penetration method that real human chewing pattern was simulated using Texture Analyzer. Studies were conducted to explore the relationship among different penetration parameters (including the high-point Y₁, Y₂, Y₃, the stable-point Y₄ and the area Y₅ of the penetration curve) and the sensory evaluation. The results show that the relationships between the high-point Y₁ of penetration parameter and the sensory evaluation are both close on pork and beef materials, their correlation coefficients are 0.9784 and 0.9984, respectively, which indicate highly significantly positive correlation (P<0.01). The study shows that the first high-point Y₁ of the penetration curve by Texture Analyzer is feasible to quantitative evaluation of meat tenderness.