THE EFFECT OF COOKING CONDITIONS ON THE EATING QUALITY OF PORK

Two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of cooking param eters, including final internal temperature (65, 72.5 or 80 degrees C) , on the eating quality of pork. Assessments were made by a 10-member trained taste panel. lit Experiment 1 on loin steaks (m. longissimus)f rom 28 carcasses weighing 66 +/- 1.9 (SD) kg, increasing the final int ernal temperature from 65 to 80 degrees C had the following effects on mean scores (1-8): tenderness -1.0; juiciness -1.5, pork flavour +0.6 and abnormal flavour -0.5. The medium temperature of 72.5 degrees C w as suggested as ideal. In Experiment 2 on leg roasts (m. gluteobiceps) from 96 carcasses weighing 65 + 2.7 (SD) kg, increasing the final int ernal temperature from 65 to 80 degrees C had the following effects on mean scores (1-8): tenderness -0.2 (not significant), juiciness -0.6, pork flavour +0.3 and abnormal flavour -0.5. The effects of final int ernal temperature were therefore smaller in roasts and temperatures to wards the upper end of the range would be recommended for ideal eating quality, balancing small losses in tenderness and juiciness against g ains in flavour scores. Although the experiments were not designed to examine source and sex effects there was evidence that tenderness can be improved through the use of Duroc genes and pelvic suspension of ca rcasses and no evidence of differences in eating quality between entir e males and females.