Fresh Bovine Meat: Sensory and instrumental evaluation of tenderness.

Abstract

The objective of the present work was to define the ideal tenderness of bovine meat and establish an index for the differentiation between hard and tender beef of commercial origin. Different beef cuts (“Chã de Fora”, “Rabadilha”, “Vazia” and “Lombo”) of different tenderness were considered for this study and were evaluated simultaneously by consumers using a hedonic scale and by instrumental methods. With these results, it was possible to compare the tenderness evaluation of commercial meat with Cachena meat.